Changing Times
by tenken
Summary: [COMPLETED] A story about an older Koganei who drifted away from the Hokage. Pg-13 for swearing.
1. Prologue The Reunion

Disclaimer: Recca no Honou (Flame of Recca) does not belong to me, and neither do its characters.

Rating: PG13 for language and violence.

Note: There is a lot of swearing in this fic, but from what people say now-a-days I don't think readers would be surprised…I'm still warning you though, other than that, enjoy!

Prologue: "The Reunion"

A fist connected into my jaw, pain shot through my entire body, and I crashed to the floor. "Hah, that bastard can't take a punch." One man said, cracking his knuckles. "All talk." The other said, leaning a baseball bat on his shoulder. Gathering up my legs underneath me, I hunched in a kneeling position. _What the fuck is wrong with me…_ I growled to myself. I put one hand to my head, my baseball cap rested on my head still, my hair crammed into it.

"Ohh…" I said, getting up. "That was a damn strong punch." I stood up and wiped off the blood that dribbled down my chin. "I think I'm gonna die from it." I grinned. The two men growled at me, veins showing out in their heads.

"What the hell you talking about punk?" Baseball bat asked. "What's up with your damn sarcasm!!?" He lifted the bat off his shoulder and swung it around at my head. I blinked at this attack, and then caught the bat in my left hand, pulling it to the side. "What the…?" I cut the asshole off, punching him in the stomach with my right and kicking him in the head. He fell to the floor and the baseball bat skidded and rolled to where he lay. 

"Bastard!!!" The other man shouted, running at me. Grinning like an idiot, I sidestepped his pathetic punch. He swerved around suddenly and kicked me in the chest. I crashed backwards and hit….

"Are you okay?" 

_What…who the hell is that…Can't they shut the fuck up…? Damn… my head hurts like hell…_

"Excuse me…?" It was a lady's voice, or maybe a girl's. It sounded familiar. I cracked my eyes open. A lady, no a girl in her late teens, maybe nineteen or twenty… looked at me. I was lying on my back. _Damn! I must have hit my head on the fire escape…Damndamndamndamn!!! Those assholes…_ A toothed grin. _At least I didn't have any money with me…_ "Kaoru-kun?" _What…???_

"Kaoru-kun…?" I repeated, sitting up and holding my head in my hands, the hat was still on. "Itai!" Blood… on my left hand, from the back of my head. _Damn assholes!!_ I looked up and the lady rested her hand on my head. The pain faded away. "Ya…Yanagi-nechan??" I looked at her face…It was similar to the Yanagi I knew, in three years she had only changed slightly. 

"It is you…" she said, smiling softly at me. I gave her my famous fanged grin. 

"Koganei Kaoru at your service, Yanagi nechan." 

"Hey! Hime!" a voice shouted. "What are you doing in there? It's not safe in alleyways!!" A man with spiky black hair and red highlights ran in, and upon seeing me, jumped in front of his Hime protectively. "What are you doing to her?" He set his angry glare at me. _He hasn't changed one bit._

"What do you think I'm doing to her," I said, grinning, "Recca-niichan."

"Niichan?" Recca said, stooping down to peer at me. I took off my hat and my hair fell out and into its…spikiness. I grinned. "Koganei!" _What's up with the idiot… He can't recognize my face like nechan can? _

"Yo! Recca-niichan!!" I shouted, jumping on him in my expected fashion. We crashed onto the ground. 

"Koganei-no-baka!!" Recca shouted. "Get offa me!!" I rolled off of him. "Geez.. you gotta realize you've….grown.." We stood up, and I was taller than him by a fraction. _I look down on him, a fraction. _I grinned inwardly. _Now I don't have to damn look up at everyone._

"Kaoru-kun, we were just going to meet everyone." Yanagi said, mumbling slightly. "We have something to talk about." I blinked.

"Everyone?" I said. "As in Mikagami-nichan, Fuuko-nechan, Domon-nichan?" _What were they gonna meet about…why the fuck didn't they try to find me? It's not that damn hard…I'm in the damn phone book…There's not a lotta damn Koganei Kaorus!_

"Koganei…" Recca said. "Come with us. Something bad may happen…to Hime." I blinked again. _Damn! Someone's trying to hurt Yanagi again! I'll fucking kill them!!!_

"Sure niichan." I said, stretching. "Who is it now? Mori again?" Recca held onto Yanagi's arm and walked out of the alley. 

"We were actually gonna meet at my house." Recca said. "But…it ended up at that abandoned factory…'cause it's more private…" The couple walked away. _Damn him! Can't he give me a straight answer!!_

"Niichan! Are we fighting?" I said, walking after them, putting my hands behind my head. "Cause if we are, I need kougon anki, it's in my room…" _No damn reply again!!! What the hell is wrong with him!! He expects me to come with him like a freaking little puppy or some shit like that? Then he doesn't give me a damn straight answer!!! _I pivoted on my feet and headed the other direction. "I'll get kougon anki and meet you there." 

TBC

Hope u enjoyed my bad fic with all the swearing in it…. Was it good enough for an introduction? Maybe should be more than PG13… read and review and tell me if it should be more or less? ARIGATOU!


	2. Chapter 1 Hidden in the Shadows

Disclaimer: See Prologue. 

Linkin Park's song 'Runaway' does not belong to me as well.

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence (more language then violence though)

Chapter One: Hidden in the Shadows

            I jammed a key into the door and twisted it so hard it might have bent. _Damn! Stupid damn fucking key!!_ The door unlocked and I wrenched the key out again; it was a twisted hunk of metal now. _Damn…have to go to the fucking repair shop…_ I slammed the door open, throwing the key across the room to land on top of my bed. _Least I have an extra…_ I closed the door to my two room apartment. 

            My stomach growled. _Damn…haven't eaten anything since those assholes wanted to fight…no wait… I haven't had anything to damn eat today…oh that's just great…_ I walked to my fridge which sat in the corner of my first room. _They can wait a bit… since they didn't damn ask me until now…or damn try to fucking look me up…_ I made myself a sandwich and ripped pieces out of it angrily with my fanged teeth. _Couldn't even look in the phone book to see where I was…_ I stomped into my bedroom and towards a wrapped up object in the corner. _Kougon__ anki…_ Shoving the rest of the sandwich in my mouth, and grabbing the kougon anki in my right hand, I flopped down on my bed. 

            _The abandoned factory…_ I thought, running a hand through my spiky hair. _Where Yanagi and Recca first met… Damn…_ I jumped up and looked out the window at the street underneath. _Two floors down…I could probably jump from here… I did from Recca's window…It'll be faster also…_ I ran and grabbed my extra set of keys, locked the door, and opened the window. _I haven't done this for a long time…_ I blinked._ It'll take a while to get there…_ I grabbed my CD player and shoved it in the pocket of my baggy jeans. Putting the earphones in and pressing play, I opened the window and looked outside.            

[Graffiti decorations underneath a sky of dust.

A constant wave of tension on top of broken trust.

The lessons that you taught me I learned were never true.]

            Nobody was outside or at least that I could see. _Banzai!!_ I shouted in my head, and jumped out the window, music blasting in my ears and kougon anki clutched in my hand. I landed easily in a kneeled position on the hard sidewalk. _Damn…that was damn fun! I forgot how it felt…_ I started running down the street. _It'll take about… half an hour to walk there...At least I got my music._

Now I found myself in question. 

(They point the finger at me again)

Guilty by association.

(You point the finger at me again)

            I looked around and realized I was outside Domon's flower shop. _Can't believe such a big guy worked in a damn flower shop._ I smirked, imagining him carefully planting flowers in dirt. _Domon…He should be about…nineteen now…first year college. Probably failing his classes, 'cause he's an idiot…_ A woman stepped out of the store, her curly hair blowing in the slight wind.

            "Do you need some help?" she asked. _Domon's mom, I guess he got his love for flowers here…_ I took out one of my earphones so I could hear what she said. She blinked. "Koganei-kun?" I blinked also. _Can't believe she recognized me…damn, I only met her once…_ I nodded once, still stunned.

            "How come you haven't visited Domon lately? Last time was around…" she closed her eyes in thought. "Oh goodness…two years? What happened?" I gave her a fanged grin.

            "I moved out of the neighborhood." I said, still grinning. _Damn…why do I have to explain myself to her…_ "So I'm closer to my school." She nodded and opened her mouth to say something. "Gomen, but I have to go. I have to meet someone." She shut her mouth and nodded.

            "See you around, Koganei-kun." She said, waving. I nodded and started running. _It has been a while I guess… _I gave nobody my famous fanged grin and continued running. _Well, I haven't seen everyone in two years, since I moved…I wonder if everyone's changed…_

I wanna run away never say goodbye.

I wanna know the truth instead of wondering why.

I wanna know the answers no more lies.

I wanna shut the door and open up my mind.

            _Why the hell are we damn meeting in an abandoned factory?_ I climbed to the top of the fence surrounding the dilapidated building, only to have it crash down underneath me. "Shit!!"  _Fucking hell!!_ The twisted metal had slashed me across the arm, cutting through my long sleeved black shirt and into my arm slightly. _Damndamndamn__…stupid fucking fence…_ I reached for something to bandage it when I heard footsteps running towards me. _Who is it?_ I finished unwrapping kougon anki when figures burst out of the factory and jumped at me. _Damn!_ I brought kougon anki's blade up, and stopped suddenly, upon seeing familiar faces.

Paper bags and angry voices under a sky of dust.

Another wave of tension has more than filled me up.

All my talk of taking action these works are never true.

Now I find myself in question.

(They point the finger at me again)

Guilty by association.

(You point the finger at me again)

            The tip of kougon anki's blade was an inch away from the face of a large man with a spiky mohawk. _Domon…_ "Domon-nichan…" I said out loud. His fist was a half raised. I looked around at the other people behind him. There was a girl with purple hair and headband, wearing a spaghetti strap black shirt and blue jeans. "Fuuko-nechan." Another swivel of the head and I came face to face with a man dressed in semi-baggy jeans, and a plain white shirt. He had long hair that hung lose and blew wildly in the wind. "M-Mikagami-nichan?!" _He always wore suits…and looked…really feminine. He looks like a punk…_

I wanna run away never say goodbye.

I wanna know the truth instead of wondering why.

I wanna know the answers no more lies.

I wanna shut the door and open up my mind.

The three stared at me closely, still with wariness in their eyes and stances. 

            "Ko-chan?" Fuuko asked, walking up closer to me and looking up. "Damn, you've grown!" I gave her a fanged grin. _Damn right I've grown…they always made fun of my damn height even if I was freaking three years younger…_

            "Who else is the master of kougon anki?" I said, twirling it. Domon grabbed me by my head. _What the hell is with this guy…_

            "Why'd u scare us with that noise?" he said, shoving his face close to mine. _Hasn't changed a bit…_

            "The fence fell…" I said, pouting. "Not my fault." _Well if you guys told me earlier to damn come instead of damn telling without time in advance…I could fucking taken my time instead of damn racing here!!!_ "I tried to climb over…and it kinda…collapsed." Recca looked at me, with a strange look on his face. I looked back. _What the hell you lookin' at Recca?!_

            "Let's go back inside." He said briefly, turning away. I ran after him, at the same time turning off my music.

            "Oi, Recca-nichan, so what's happening?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He kept on walking. _Damn…he's gettin' really annoyin with this silent act…_ The doors of the factory were closed behind us and we sat down on the floor.  "So….what's happening…?" Recca closed his eyes and Yanagi looked at the floor. 

            "Someone's…after Hime again…" Recca said, exhaling as he said it. The rest of the Hokage, including me, blinked. _What? Someone's trying to hurt Yanagi? I'll freaking kill them!! Why can't they let her alone!!_

            "Who is it?" Mikagami asked, making eye contact with Recca. Recca and Mikagami had a brief staring contest, and then Recca lowered his eyes. 

            "I don't know…" Fuuko jumped up and bashed Recca on the head.

            "Idiot! Then how do you know…"

            "We were damn attacked!!" Recca shouted, jumping up and cutting Fuuko off. _Recca still has a temper…I thought he'd cooled down or somethin…_ "It was a bit later than usual... everyone had gone home already and we were in the classroom packing up our stuff to leave..."

            "And then all this shadow filled up the room." Yanagi continued. "We thought it was Recca's okaa-san so we didn't worry, but then this form came out of all the shadows…"

            "And it wasn't kaa-chan," Recca finished. _They're completing each other's sentences...damn they're growing close..._ "Probably from the voice, it was a guy...He said that you guys are letting your guards down and he would take back the girl of healing from you."

            "Deep voice? High voice?" I asked slowly. _Can't they think properly? You have to damn plan things..._

            "Medium..." Recca said, looking up. "I think..."

            "So…you think his madougu's shadow?" Fuuko asked, looking puzzled. Recca shrugged. "We have to let him make the next move??"

            "We don't know anything about him..." Domon said. "Or if it's really a guy..." _So we fucking wait until he tries to kidnap Yanagi?!? _I opened my mouth, and blinked. _A killing ki!!_ I jumped up, unwrapping kougon anki. 

            "A killing ki." I said, noticing the others were not getting up, other than Mikagami. _Damn, they have become dull, can't freaking feel that?? _The rest of the Hokage blinked then got up, and as if triggered by this movement, things that looked like blades shot through the windows of the factory and blasted towards them. 

            "What the fuck??" Domon shouted, barely dodging aside. The blade suddenly curved, following him, and dug into his arm. "DAMN!! WHAT THE HELL!?!?"  Recca summoned madoka and the blade evaporated against the flame shield. Mikagami silently froze the blade; it fell to the floor with a tinkle and shattered. Fuuko dodged the blade and blasted it with air from the fuujin, sending it flying... towards Yanagi. 

            "HIME!!!" Recca shouted, jumping for her. A blade zipped towards him and slashed him on the leg, causing him to trip. _Nobody can reach her..._ I thought, heading towards Yanagi, dodging a blade and running. 

            She sat, her legs underneath her, her hands held up as if to somehow block the black blade, shooting towards her. Her eyes were wide in shock; she turned to look for her ninja, who was lying on the floor a few feet from her. "Recca-kun..." she said, the blade shot towards her, her eyes focused on it and squeezed shut.

            Blood flew through the air, spattering on Yanagi's dress, staining it. Recca looked up, eyes wide and teeth gritted. A vein stood out in his forehead, and tears of happiness or joy formed... I couldn't tell...

            The blade dug deep into my back. _Cold....Damn...it's fucking...cold...._ I opened my eyes....to meet the scared, or was it relieved gaze of Yanagi. "Yanagi-nechan..." I gave her my famous fanged grin, and then fell backwards, blood trickling down the side of my mouth. _It's__ cold...it's dark...I can't... where am I...? What the fuck happened to me...?_

TBC

One bad thing about writing this fic is that I gotta be angry to get the right reactions I want from Koganei… I should work on it right after my chemistry then… Review!


	3. Chapter 2: Changing Perspectives

Chapter Two: Changing Perspectives

            _Dark…dark…I can't see anything…can't move…I hear voices…shouting…what are they saying?_ I opened my eyes, and saw nothing. _My eyes are open...it's still dark...what the hell happened?_ ........ _Am I dead?!?!_ I blinked. _The voices were getting louder... _My back started burning with pain...not like a cut, I know what one of those felt like, but...more like I was cut with Mikagami's ice sword... Burning from cold... _Like that made any damn sense..._ I tried to move my body, and it responded sluggishly. The pain started melting away, slowly at first, but it increased in speed, and my eyes started blurring back into reality.

            "Koganei!!!"

            "Kaoru-kun!!!"

            "Ko-chan!!!"

            Blurry faces became faces of my childhood friends.... _Recca, Yanagi, Domon, Fuuko, Mikagami. _Yanagi had her hands hovering above my stomach, where the blood stain had leaked through my black shirt, and dyed my white shirt crimson. Her eyes were watery and tears had leaked down her face. Blood diluted by tears.

            "Kaoru-kun...I...I'm so glad, you're okay..." Yanagi said, sniffing. Recca poised above her looking down on me. There was relief in his eyes...but not only because of my miraculous recovery. _He's happy I took the blade instead of his hime..._ I gave her my fanged grin and slowly sat up, wincing at the still sore once-wounds. _Damn...what the hell was that...it looked like a shadow...but shadows can't hurt you...can't damn stab into you..._ Domon knelt down and held his hand out, and when I took it he yanked me up, practically dislocating my shoulder. _Damn!! That freaking hurt....I get hurt from help more than in fights... _I stood up blinking, my body swaying back and forth.

            "Arigatou Yanagi-nechan." I said, grinning at her. I touched the blood stain on the shirt wincing from an unfeeling pain. Yanagi kept her head down, her bangs hiding her eyes from me, and walked closer to me. She put her hands on my chest and looked up, tears still in her eyes.

            "I'm sorry....Kaoru-kun..." she mumbled to me, meeting my eyes for a brief moment. I blinked.

            "Ahh Yanagi-nechan, I'm fine remember? You healed me!" _At least somebody appreciates that I saved her....everyone expects me to save her and then be all fine with it…_ I looked up at the faces of my friends, they were all watching Yanagi.

            "Hime…" Recca said, putting his hand tentatively on her shoulder. She looked up and leaned against him. I blinked. _Before…I didn't…I didn't think that it was expected of me as one of the Hokage to protect Yanagi. I just did it unthinkingly._ I looked at their faces once again, crowding around Yanagi, telling her it was okay.

            "Don't worry about Koganei!" Domon said, patting her on the head. She looked up and wiped her eyes. "He's used to being beaten up, right?" He looked back and grinned. 

            "Uh…yah." I said, looking down at the blood stain on my shirt. I blinked, looking up at the shattered window. _Forgot about him…has he been watching Yanagi?_ A piece of paper fluttered down to land softly on the floor. Fuuko went to pick it up, her eyes widening as she read whatever was written on it. Wordlessly, she handed the paper to me. _What's with your look, Recca? Guess…I was elected to read it to him…_ I glared beneath my bangs at Fuuko. 

            "Hokage, or should I say the protectors of the girl of healing? You're probably thinking that I'm some psycho out to take over the world, like Mori Koran was, am I right? And to do so I need Sakoshita's powers to keep me alive for eternity? Can't believe you're so unimaginative…" I paused, looking up at Recca, who was clutching his fist tightly, a vein standing out in his forehead.

            "Keep on reading." He muttered. Watching his face, I could read his emotions easily. _If he's irritated by these childish taunts, he hasn't changed, gets too emotional too quickly._ I cleared my throat.

            "All of you have become too lax in your training. I would guess that all of you do not have the same powers that you had before. For example Kirisawa Fuuko, you only have one spare crystal on the Fuujin. Once you use that, you're just a powerless college girl, am I right? No, you still have those ice picks that you can throw, other than that your power's diminished drastically." _How does he know this… no way, he was in the Urabutosatojin?? If he watched all our fights he could know our strengths and weaknesses…_ Fuuko punched the floor, looking at the empty crevasse, where the main orb of the fuujin would fit. 

            "Fuuko…" Domon said, looking at her. 

            "Ishijima Domon, you haven't been practicing with the kuchibashi, probably forgotten how to use it. Sitting in a closet collecting dust, that wasn't what the madougus were for…" I mumbled the rest of the sentence, looking guiltily at kougon anki that lay beside me. _When I was with Kurei and during the Urabutosatojin kougon anki was with me all the time…lying beside me, ready to protect me…_ Mikagami walked over to me, plucked the sheet from my hands and began to read it.

"Moving on to the next member of Hokage. Koganei Kaoru, isn't it? You've become separated from the rest of Hokage when you moved. It's too bad you didn't stay out of this; you could have stayed in your depression. I should have killed you, I suppose, before you had the chance to hook up with Hanabishi. In some ways…you're still able to fight, but with your fists, you haven't brought kougon anki with you. I guess it would be a bit ostentatious if you went around slashing people with that… I'm getting sidetracked aren't I? Mikagami Tokiya, you don't change, carrying around the ensui everywhere you go." Mikagami paused and put his hand in his pocket, and, as if he felt something comforting in there, took his hand out again and continued reading. "The ensui isn't a replacement for your sister. Carrying it around won't keep her with you; you do know that, don't you?" Recca jumped up suddenly.

"Can't he fucking get on with it?!" he shouted, baring his fangs. "What the hell is the point of this damn letter!?" Mikagami looked up slightly at Recca, and then looked down again.

"It's nearly over." Mikagami said, and passed it to Recca. Recca's eyes widened.

"Do the flame dragons listen to you anymore? That would be unfortunate, wouldn't it, Recca? If you tried to summon Saiha, and he came out and burnt you, going out of control like he did with your fight with Saicho." A smirk appeared on Recca's face. "Do you think that this is enough insulting? You all are probably angry enough now, to fully comprehend how I feel. You were waiting for this, weren't you Recca? 

Depending on your madougus, you did not try to improve yourselves, but just to gain the ability to use the madougu you were given. The madougus disrupt normal life, going to school as a teenager, homework, classes, and teachers. The Urabutosatojin was made to collect the girl of healing, to collect all the madougus of the losers. Madougu are killing devices, and to collect them people killed, fought, won and lost the fight for life. They've hurt more than they've helped. They should not exist. With my madougu, the shadow, I will destroy all of the madougus. Sakoshita also disrupted normal lives, all of yours, I'll do you all a favor, and kill her after I destroy your madougus."        

TBC

I took a long time to write this…gomen… I was lazy… This chapter was supposed to introduce the bad guy and show how Koganei sees how he's changed, before he always protected Yanagi without thinking…and shows how he isn't a kid anymore, but still the Hokage see him as the same… Review!


	4. Chapter 3: The Discovery

Chapter Three: The Discovery

            Silence echoed noisily in my ears. The cold metal of kougon anki rested on my lap, reassuring me with its presence, like it did when I was young. Kagero listened as Recca told her what had happened in the abandoned warehouse. I watched her reaction, her emotions flicker from one to another, with a dull look in my eyes. _Why…do I protect her? Why do I protect her unthinkingly?_ I looked around at the Hokage. _Why do they protect her? What's…what's the point? Everyone dies someday…even Yanagi…_ I looked into the faces of my teammates…my friends…_even they will disappear one day…_ I blinked as I felt a glare boring a hole in my head. I looked to my left and met the glare of a blond haired girl with a stuffed fox sitting in her lap. Leaning over to her, I whispered "Ganko-chan, what's wrong?" 

            Blue eyes bit into my amber ones. _What's her freaking problem??_ She leant over and whispered back to me. "You've changed Koganei." I blinked, surprised. 

            "What…what are you talking about?" I mumbled back, avoiding her glare. _What does she know…she's only thirteen…how would she know if I've changed or not?_ _Che__…what am I thinking, she probably thinks I should be bouncing around right now adding to Recca's story…_ "I've changed?" I whispered. She nodded then turned her head back towards the conversation. Strangely, I could see the same image she was picturing in her head. Me, jumping up and running over Recca's voice, shouting that I wouldn't let anyone hurt Yanagi-nechan…that I would protect her, not Recca-nichan. 

            My eyes wandered around the room, at the fire pit in the middle of our circle, the sounds of the birds chirping merrily outside. _So this was Kagero's hideout…_

            "Not again…" Kagero murmured. "Before it was Mori Koran and now it is this… this man…" A vein appeared on Recca's forehead. He clenched his fist until it shook from the pressure.

            "W…" I looked up, as did the rest of the Hokage. "Wh…why…why do people have to try to hurt Hime!!!" Recca jumped up, teeth clenched tightly, baring his fangs. "Can't they leave her freaking alone?!?" I blinked.

            "Can't you just…protect Yanagi-nechan again, Recca-nichan?" I asked, with a contrived puzzled expression on my face. Recca blinked.

            "Yah…of course I can Koganei!" Recca stuttered. "I won't let anyone hurt Hime!!" I sighed. _He's always like this…he always jumps to protect her, without thinking. _I watched as the rest of the Hokage jumped up and shouted their agreement. _The others also…Doesn't he realize that he could get killed? That he could get his father killed? His friends…?? Their families? _Images of Domon's mom and her flower shop, burning to the ground. Recca's house exploding in sheets of flame, spreading as the fireworks and gunpowder were lit... _Fuck it, he can't recognize danger when he thinks about his Hime, so what the hell can I do about it…_ Another glare cut its way through my thoughts, and I jumped up and raised my fist.

            "Yah! Let's protect Yanagi-nechan!!" I shouted, giving a fanged grin. Recca responded with his own grin, while the others smiled on. 

            "Minna…" 

            Everyone turned to the object of attention.

            "…Arigatou!!" Yanagi said, bowing to them. She looked up, tears in her eyes. "I don't want you to fight for me…get hurt for me…but…" Recca shook his head.

            "Daijoubu Hime!! We all fight for you 'cause we want to, right?" He put an arm around her shaking shoulders and grinned at us. We all nodded in return. "Good! Let's get training!!" Recca shouted, running outside. A silence followed, but it was shattered by Fuuko's shouting when she chased after Recca.

            "Baka! Where do you think you're going?" Fuuko shouted, chasing Recca outside. A slightly muffled shout of "I'll protect Hime!!!" echoed to me. Domon rushed out of the wooden sliding doors, right on Fuuko's heels. 

            "Fuuko!!" he shouted, chasing her. Mikagami shrugged and followed the running trio. 

            "A bunch of monkeys…" he muttered beneath his breath, giving a slight smile. I stood watching the rest of the Hokage move out onto the open area outside of Kagero's house. Kougon anki still lay on the wooden floor next to the pillow where I had sat. Kagero stood up and walked over to the open doors and made a gesture as if she was going to close them. I still didn't move or get the hint. _There is no point…why should we risk everything…just for~_  

            A sharp jab to my side made me jump and swear loudly. I whipped my head around and saw no-one. A smirk came on my face, and then I looked down to see Ganko.

            "What's up chibi?" I grinned down at her. Ganko glared at me and dragged me down to her level by my shirt collar. Her blue eyes once again burned holes into mine. "Wha…what is it?" 

            "Don't swear. It's bad." Ganko said seriously. I think an incredulous look appeared on my face, because it made her madder. "I'm not joking Koganei!" That made it funnier… I laughed right in her face until she shoved her hand over my mouth. The laughing continued echoing in my mind. _Why am I laughing…am I crazy now? _Under her restraining hand, my mouth grinned.

            "Aren't you going to train?" she said, freeing both shirt collar and mouth. I blinked once, before Kondo jumped up into my face and shouted his agreement. I whacked him aside with a flick of my hand and bent down to collect kougon anki. 

            "Hai hai, Ganko-sama." I said, grinning and turning my back to her as I walked outside the house. Hearing the wooden door click quietly shut behind me, I stepped down and across the grass, enjoying the feel of my madougu leaning against my shoulder and still pondering through my new discovery in my head.  

TBC

Once again…I apologize for the length of time it takes for me to get this out… and I think the writing style changed somewhere. Now it's not as angry…but more descriptive. Hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was short. 


	5. Chapter 4: Confidence

Chapter Four: Confidence

I blinked as I looked upon the large grassy area outside Kagero's house. Domon was missing. _Where did that gorilla go? _I thought, walking up to Mikagami. 

"Ey, Mikagami-nichan, where did Domon-nichan go to?" I asked, looking at him. He didn't reply. I blinked. _What's his problem…what's that in his hand…?_ A small handle of a sword was gripped tightly in his right hand, a small bottle of water in his left. _Ensui…? _Mikagami finally looked up after a few minutes and seemed surprised that I was there.

"He went to pick up kuchibashi-o." Mikagami said, slowly pouring out the bottle of water onto his madougu. I nodded and watched as ice slowly formed from the water. "Ensui…." _At least Mikagami can still use his madougu…_ _I don't know about the rest of them though…_

"Hey, Ko-chan!" a voice shouted at me. I blinked and looked towards the voice. _Ko__-chan…? Thought I freakin' outgrew that name a while ago…_ I saw Fuuko's grinning chibi face and sweatdropped. _Guess not._ I walked over to her with kougon anki gripped in one hand. 

"What's up Fuuko-nechan?" I said, grinning at her. _Ko__-chan…am I always a little kid in her eyes…? Can't she see I've grown up? _She put the madougu crystal of onitsume in the empty main core of fuujin and three wind claws came out.

"Kazetsume!" Fuuko looked up at me grinning. "How's that, huh? I haven't lost my touch, right Koganei?" _Haven't lost your touch…but haven't improved at all…she can control her madougu…can she use it properly? Can she fight with it still…?_ I blinked and nodded back at her, grinning. The weight of kougon anki in my hand sent a sudden feeling of guilt through me. _I'm judging her…can I still use kougon anki? Can I still fight?_

I had no time to think as Fuuko ran straight at me. Slower than before, but still shockingly fast compared to the punks I'd been fighting. The deceptively see through blades of wind aimed at my face. I stood shocked for a moment then quickly brought up kougon anki to deflect the claws. The moment knocked me flying backwards. _Fuck it!!! She's still freakin' fast!! And strong!_ I rolled to my feet and jumped up to barely block her next attack. It sent me tumbling again, head over heels, to roll more slowly to my feet. 

"Koganei I'm not messing around here." Fuuko said, looking at me with a serious look. "We need to fight to protect Yanagi-chan again, remember? So come on and fight me!" _Protect Yanagi…? _"That shadow guy wants to kill her? REMEMBER??" The orb of onitsume glowed as the three claws detached. 

"Whatever." I said, looking up and glaring at her. _Yanagi again?__ Can't she damn get it, Yanagi's gonna die one day, we're all gonna die one day!! What the hell's the point of fighting to protect her??_ "I'll take you on." A genuine grin came un-called onto my face. _What…? I remember this…this rush of adrenaline. Fighting with punks doesn't bring it…_ I looked at Fuuko. _Fighting people of high caliber…people with madougus…_

The three claws flew at me, the first one right at my face. I dodged it by ducking and rolling forwards. Gripping kougon anki in both hands, confidence seemed to radiate from it into me. Changing it to its second form, ryu, I flung the blade backwards to knock away the blade flying towards my back. The feel of the chains in my hands was different than normal metal; it glided from ryu to kyoku easily, as if it was part of my body. My smirk widened as I smashed the last claw away and shot towards Fuuko, who fell over to dodge the attack. _I feel alive…_

Fuuko rolled back upright to jump to the side to dodge a slash from kyoku. She sent a blast of air from Fuujin at me in response. "Try this Koganei!!" she shouted. I smirked, a fanged grin, and leapt over the attack. _Kougon anki…_ It slid back from kyoku to ryu. 

I threw the bladed end of ryu at Fuuko, who blasted it aside with another gust of air. Landing on the ground I stopped to catch my breath, Fuuko did the same. "Damn, this is more tiring then it was before, ne Koganei?" she said, sitting down on the grass. I sprawled onto the grassy floor also and nodded.

"Ah…I think I'm out of shape at doing this…" I changed kougon anki back to Kiba and laid it on the grass. _Kougon anki…sorry for neglecting you…Heh I feel better than I have in days…_ I smirked to myself then turned to look at Recca's training. "Ey, how you doing Recca-nichan?" He looked back at me and turned chibi.

"Shut up! Concentrate on your own training Koganei!!!" he shouted, then turned his back to me. _What the fuck is his problem?? Heh, maybe he's having problems training alone I guess…_ I looked to Mikagami who was practicing moves with ensui. _Still don't get along too well I guess…? Anyway…_ I tried to glare a hole through Recca's back. _What the hell's his freakin' problem??_

TBC

Koganei got back his confidence in fighting, so maybe there's a chance for him to become back to 'normal' and become part of the Hokage again. Next chapter will be from Recca's POV (point of view) because it's about the flame dragons.

Forms of kougon anki: 1) kiba – fang (this is the form koganei usually uses, it looks like a halberd)

                                    2) ryu – chains (a sickle at the end of a chain)

                                    3) kyoku – scissors (literally, big scissors)

                                    4) mikizuki – boomerang (spelling may be wrong, a big boomerang)

                                    5) an – bow (bow and arrows)

                                    6) mu – nothing (only talked about in the anime, the kougon anki breaks into pieces. Koganei then throws the orb at the enemy and tells the anki to reform…)


	6. Chapter 5: Cooperation Recca POV

Chapter 5: Cooperation

_Damn that Koganei…mind his own business…_ I thought, looking down at the tekkou on my arm. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply. _I…I have to protect Hime!_ My right hand raised and wrote the character for Nadare in the air. Immediately fireballs began forming around me, floating, suspended in midair. I grinned at them. 

"I guess I should've tried Nadare first, right, Hime?" I turned slightly to look at her. She nodded, smiling, then blinked suddenly at something behind me. 

"Recca-kun…behind you…" she said, eyes wide. I blinked quickly then started to turn back around. "Nadare…it's…" The fireballs started changing shape, flaring up into spirals of flame instead of round orbs. _What the hell…? _

"Nadare!" I shouted at the image of the dragon form of Nadare suspended in the air. "Calm down!" A sudden movement caught my attention. "No…no way…" The fireballs started slowly moving towards me. I whipped my head to Hime. "Get away!!" 

"Recca-kun!!" she screamed, as Nadare's fireballs shot at me. I tumbled to the ground dodging a fireball, only dimly hearing my friends' shouts. _No time…have to…_ A fireball appeared from nowhere and exploded against my chest, charring the cloth, blasting me backwards, towards the ledge. My eyes widened as I flew over the ledge, Hime's scream echoed in my ears. 

There was nothing underneath me; I saw only bright blue sky and white clouds. _So…this is what flying feels like…_ I felt suspended for a second; for an eternity. 

Cold steel wound around my upper body, latching on tight, stopping my fall. I swung back against the ledge and looked down at the huge drop. "Ahhh!!! Fuck this is high up!!!!!!" I shouted, wriggling about. 

"Shut the hell up and stop moving Recca!!!" a voice bellowed at me. I blinked and stopped wriggling, looking up to see the owner of the voice. 

"Koganei…?" I said in an incredulous voice. He gritted his teeth and nodded, holding onto the other end of ryu. _He didn't add -nichan? _I smirked. _It was kinda a dangerous situation though…_ I lowered my chin and looked across at the landscape, the country laid out before me. Only half paying attention, I heard Domon's arrival, and felt myself being swiftly pulled back up and over the ledge. 

"Hanabishi, you idiot!!" Domon shouted, punching me. "What the hell were you doing??" I showed my fang as I jumped up, punching him back.

"Shut the hell up, gorilla!!" I bellowed back at him. Then I blinked and fell silent for a while, as Hime ran up to me, tears in her eyes. "Ah…Hime…"

"Recca-kun no baka!" She said, "You nearly fell off! You would've died!!" There was an uncomfortable lull in the conversation; I looked at my friends who were all staring at me. I grinned down at her, with my fang showing.

            "Hime, I'm training, don't worry, I won't die!" I said to her, grinning. "I'm fighting to protect you, remember?" She nodded, wiping away her tears. She looked back at me and smiled. I smiled back at her then was knocked over by that stupid gorilla again.

"You didn't answer my question!!" He bellowed at me, angry chibi mode. 

            "What the hell was your question, gorilla!!!" I shouted back at him, also chibi.

            "I'm not a gorilla!!"

            "Gorilla!!!" 

            Mikagami sighed and shrugged his shoulders, walking off. "They're finally back to their true forms, the gorilla and the sea-monkey." I flinched and whirled around to face… Mikagami's back.

            "Damn Mikagami! I'm not a sea-monkey!!" I shouted at him, his back. Koganei tried to stifle a laugh, very unsuccessfully. _Koganei…_I glared at him, which made the teen burst out in laughter. 

            A few minutes later, after everyone returned to their training, I finally sat down on the grass and sighed. _What was with them…Saiha, Nadare…?_ I looked at the tekkou on my right arm and thought back…

            Standing in the Urabutosatojin dome, I had faced off against Ku's Saicho in the first round of block A. After being wrapped up in his ki protected paper, I had only escaped by using saiha. Unlike nadare, who had listened to me, shooting fireballs at my adversary, saiha attacked me. The blade had been jagged, wild; it had attacked me with my own right arm. 

            I smirked as I remembered the fight then shook my head. _What the hell am I doing?? I gotta see what's wrong…Saiha was acting like when I first used him in the Urabutosatojin… _"Damn, I gotta fix this." Standing up, I walked more to the center of the ledge. At Hime's questioning glance, I grinned back at her. "Don't wanna fall off again." She nodded quickly then went inside the house to Kaa-chan and Ganko. Writing a character in the air, I braced my feet. "Flame Dragon third form, Homura!!" 

            The fire whip appeared, wrapping its way around my arm with a life of its own, until its full length was coiled around the tekkou. I inhaled sharply, waiting for something to happen, ready to block my arm if it decided to attack again. _Someone's…watching me!_ I looked around swiftly for enemies, to meet the stares of my teammates. _Ah…shit…_

            "What the hell's your problem?" I shouted at them. "Do your own training!!!" I pointed a finger at them. "You're makin' me nervous, idiots!" Domon gave me the finger then went back to training. Koganei stared at me a moment more, then turned around and changed kougon anki to an form. I forced myself to glare at Mikagami until he turned around also. 

            ~WHAP!!~ Fuuko's hand slapped against my back, sending me stumbling forwards. "Calm down Recca, you're too tense with your training!" she said, smiling and turning chibi. I spun around to face her.

            "Shut up! It's not my fault!" I shouted at her.

            "C'mon, I'll fight you, Recca!" she said back, raising her right arm that held the Fuujin. I blinked and raised my right arm, where Homura's whip stayed wrapped around it, like a tame snake. _Homura's…not going crazy like Nadare and Saiha?__ Maybe…it's because I used other ones before it…or is it that I can only use Homura so far…?_ I blinked again then a fanged grin appeared on my face. Fuuko glared at me for a moment before shooting a blast of wind at me. I stood still, unmoving, unseeing eyes looking at the ground, my mind on other things. "What the hell're you doing, Recca??" Fuuko screamed at me. I looked up at the wind blasting towards me, and something seemed to take over. I wrote a character in the air instinctively.

            "Madoka!!" I shouted, as the dragon form appeared and a shield materialized around me. Fuuko gasped as the blast evaporated on the shield, then shook away her shock, putting in the onitsume in the main core of fuujin. Three wind claws came out.

            "Kazetsume!" Fuuko rushed forwards with amazing speed and slashed at me with the claws. I let the shield disappear and dodged side to side easily, a smirk appearing on my face. _I can do this... I can protect Hime and I beat up the bastard who wants to hurt her!! _I wrote a character in the air and a fire blade appeared on my arm.

            "Saiha!!" Fuuko yelped as she avoided the blade, tumbling backwards onto the ground. I grinned at her as she leaned back in the dust. "What's wrong Fuuko? Still can't beat me?" She grinned back at me and then jumped back up, slashing at me with kazetsume. I barely blocked the attack with saiha's blade. "Heh...that was a close one! Maybe you're actually getting...better?" 

            "Of course!" she said, rushing me again. "Maybe you've just gotten weaker, Recca!" 

            "So what if I've gotten weaker??" I shouted, summoning nadare. "Dan en!!" I shot the fireballs at Fuuko who jumped around to dodge it. "I'll just get stronger again!!" _To protect Hime!_

TBC

Thanks to Yami no tenshi for reminding me to continue this fic! Review please!


	7. Chapter 6: Silence before the storm

Note: We're back to Koganei's point of view.

Chapter Six: Silence Before the Storm

            The kuchibashio flew at me and I blocked it barely in time with kyoku. The impact sent me flying backwards and made my arms hurt. Switching to mikazuki, I threw it at Domon, who got hit in the chest and was knocked over. I grinned as I caught mikazuki easily in my right hand.

            "What's wrong, Domon-niichan?" I said, still smirking. _Feh__, he's not that tough. I can do this…I'll beat that bastard to a pulp and save Yanagi before Recca._ Domon sat up, rubbing his chest.

            "Ow...now I know how Shiju felt..." he complained. I smirked again and walked over to him, holding out my hand.

            "Niichan, I think you're getting too old for this." He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up. He immediately whacked me on the head and got me in a head-lock. "Itai!! Ni-chan let go!!" _Asshole! He better fuckin' let go or I'll..._

            "Who's old, huh? You're still just a kid Koganei!" Domon bellowed in my ear while in chibi mode. I glared at him also in chibi mode. _I'm da same damn age as you guys were when you fought in da Urabutosatojin! How fucking stupid can this guy get??_ I was about to hit the gorilla in the stomach with the kougon anki, when the doors of the house slid open. Kagero and Yanagi stood in the opening holding what seemed to be bento... My stomach growled.

            "Everyone, take a break," Kagero said, holding up a box of food. "We've made something for you to eat." Yanagi nodded and smiled at us. 

            "Hai, kaa-chan!" Recca shouted, jumping away from Fuuko who was still in a fighting stance, and ran towards the three most important things in his life. I grinned to myself. _His kaa-chan, his hime, and food, heh…_ Domon ran after him, releasing me and the chain of the kuchibashio simultaneously, letting both of us drop into the dust.   

            "Baka!" I shouted, standing up and wiping the dust off my pants. _What sorta fucking idiot…_I looked at Domon's madougu that was left carelessly on the ground and shrugged. _Not my fault..._I glanced up as I heard shouting and saw that Domon and Recca were competing for the food, with Fuuko and Yanagi trying to calm them down. Ganko sat outside eating quietly with her legs dangling off the porch of the house, Kondo sitting next to her. I looked around for Mikagami. _He's probably inside...as damn uncommunicative as usual I bet... _Ganko looked up from putting a piece of chicken in her mouth and gave me a glare. I sweatdropped. _Does she have nothing freaking better to do then try and burn a hole through my head??_

            "Recca-kun....please slow down, you may choke...." Yanagi murmured to her ninja, who was attempting to stuff down the bento in record time. 

            "It's delicious hime!" He replied between huge bites of rice and chicken. I ran up to the rest of the Hokage and did what was expected of me. _Something stupid..._ I jumped for the last remaining bento that Domon was reaching for upon finishing his second. We both grabbed it at the same time and started a tug of war.

            "Domon-nichan no baka!! You already ate some!" I shouted, tugging at it with one hand, the other occupied by holding kougon anki. He pulled back with one hand also, the other still holding the empty box.

            "I'm bigger then you Koganei! I need more food!!" He shouted back at me, tugging it also. _Damn it...why the hell am I acting like a fuckin fool...?? Just cause a little girl's glaring at me?_ I sweatdropped as a certain yellow fox landed on the open box of bento and devoured its entire contents, sending rice and chicken flying through the air.

            "Ah…." _The best word I can think of is "Ah"....?? _

            "...." Domon was silent for a moment…then he smacked the fox with the empty box. "You damn fox!! What the hell did you do that for??" 

            "I need food also!" The fox shouted back, and the two started beating each other in chibi mode. The rest of the Hokage looked at the scuffle with small smiles on their faces. _Apparently they still find this funny...?_ I shook my head and grinned tolerantly, until my stomach growled. I jumped into the fight and started beating the two of them up. While being bitten on the hand by that stupid fox, I saw Ganko's face light up in a smile. _Cheh__…doesn't take much for her to be happy..._ I smirked and showed my fang, pausing in the fight, and then was squished underneath Domon who was attempting to use a wrestling move of some sorts.

            "Itai!! Domon-niichan no baka!!!" I shouted, holding a whole string of insults much worse than "baka" back. I felt something suddenly, it was inside the house. "Get the hell off of me Domon!!" I yelled, throwing my arm back to try and knock him off. 

            "What's wrong kid? Can't get lose of someone so old? Huh?" Domon said, grinning at me.

            "No you idiot!!!" I practically bellowed at him, throwing him off of me and breaking his hold. At this point, the rest of the Hokage finally deemed this event important enough to look up from their food. 

            "Wha~?" Recca mumbled around a mouthful of food. I ignored his mumbled remark and dove for the kougon anki that was dropped in my mad dash for the bento.

            "It's a killing ki you idiots!!" I shouted, diving for the anki. My hand nearly closed on the anki but a dark object flew from the ceiling and neatly slashed me on the forearm, knocking me off course and sliding into the wall. "Itai!!!" 

            The shadows that had obscured our view of the ceiling started moving and shifting about. Chicken and rice went flying through the air as Recca jumped up to grab Yanagi, dodging out of the path of multiple shadow blades that stabbed into the ground where they had been kneeling moments earlier. 

            "What the hell??" Recca shouted, getting slashed slightly on the arm by a blade. More blades flew towards him and Yanagi. "Madoka!!" He wrote a character in the air and the shield that appeared blocked the deadly shadows. Domon jumped up and ran underneath where the shadows were the darkest and shouted up at them.

            "Stop messing around asshole and stop hiding!!" he shouted, raising a fist. _Like that's gonna do anythin..._ I scrambled back onto my feet and pushed up the cloth that hid the scar on my wrist up to cover my newer wound. The patch of shadows darkened and lengthened, turning into a larger blade. _Not a blade, it's a fucking spear! _I dashed for the anki and grabbed it, spinning back and running towards Domon who was giving the shadow his middle finger. _What a fucking idiot!!!_

            The shadow spear appeared from the rest of the shadows and shot towards Domon, who had time to gape in amazement and look around wildly for his kuchibashio, which was laying in the dust outside. I leapt forward towards Domon and saw a spurt of red fly in front of my eyes and my vision turned black.

TBC

Yami no tenshi: I guess Recca was under a lot of stress because he wasn't sure if the dragons will listen to him and if he can be strong enough to protect his hime...  And, I guess if someone calls you by the same name then suddenly stops it...you usually notice it.            


	8. Chapter 7: Ja

Chapter Seven: Ja

            I heard a distorted laugh echo around me as a searing pain stabbed into my face and chest. Shouts of anger and concern bounced off of me and glided through the air like phantoms, fading until they disappeared entirely, leaving me in darkness and silence. _I'm such a fucking idiot…why the hell did I get into the way…what the hell's wrong with me? Protecting Yanagi? What the fuck, I didn't get hit protecting her; it was the dumb-ass Gorilla…_

            A bright red flame glowed dark red from the inside of my closed eyes. A few antagonizing minutes later, the pain slowly leaked away. I sat up, wiping the blood that had trickled down from a forehead wound and finally opened me eyes to meet the crying ones of Yanagi. 

            "Daijobu deska Kaoru-kun…?" she asked, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, her palm was dyed crimson with my blood. I nodded, not even attempting to grin at her, and pushed the cloth down to cover my scarred wrist once again. "Don't worry, Recca-kun made the shadows go away," she said, mistaking my silence as worry about the shadows.

            "Ah…" I mumbled, standing up and wiping away the rest of the blood from my face. No one else seemed to have been hurt. _Other than the fucking hero of the gorillas._ Ganko was sitting on the ground looking stunned and out of it. 'At least I won't get glared at again…' Fuuko was standing over Domon who was in a half-sitting, half-standing posture, also looking out of it.

            "Domon no baka! Why the hell did you leave your madougu outside??" Fuuko shouted at him, whacking him on the head while in chibi mode.

            "I'm still not used to it Fuuko-sama! Gomen!" Domon replied, grinning and also in chibi mode. Fuuko sighed and looked up, noticing me standing and watching them. She whacked him again and pointed then he turned around to grin at me. He jumped up and stumbled over to face me.  "Arigatou Koganei, you saved me! I guess the kid can do something after all!" he shouted, getting me in a headlock and messing up my spiky hair, grinning like an idiot. 'Damn it, I save him and he still freakin' thinks I'm a brat??'

            "Domon, let go of me…" I growled at him, making him stop and release me from the headlock. _Why the hell should I act like a fuckin' kid?? For dumbass gorilla's sake??_ I blinked as I realized everyone was looking at me in surprise. _They…dammit can't believe yet?_ I turned and met the bright blue eyed glare of the kadatsugu wielder. 

            "Koganei…" she said, quietly and still glaring. _What, no wait, let me guess…! You've changed Koganei, you're different! Do I fucking give a shit??_ I shook my head and glared at the floor for a while, my bangs blocking my eyes, then turned around and walked out of Kagero's house. Domon rushed out after me, followed by the rest of the Hokage.

            "Yo Koganei, what's up??" Domon shouted, stepping down into the grass. I bent down and picked up his abandoned madougu and threw it at him. "Wha?" He barely caught it and was fumbling with the kuchibashio for a minute until he grabbed it safely.

            "Keep your madougu close to you next time bastard." I muttered, walking off toward the secret entrance. 

            "Oy Koganei, what're you doing??" Recca shouted at me.

            "What the hell does it look like Recca?" I shouted over my shoulder. "I'm going home, got stuff to do, you know!" I raised my left hand and waved it at them without looking back, resting kougon anki on my right shoulder. "Ja."

TBC


	9. Chapter 8: Remembering

Chapter Eight: Remembering  
  


I attempted to use my mangled key to open the door, but it refused to work with me. _Even you._ I sighed and broke open the door with a kick. When I had left Kagero's house, it had been mid afternoon, and upon opening the door of my apartment/room, the moon feebly attempted to light my room up with a pale glow, with the shadows dominating every corner.

I flicked the light switch and sent the shadows scurrying back to whatever place they had come from previously. Gripping the kougon anki in both hands, I scanned the room briefly and not noticing anything out of the ordinary, dropped into a chair and rested my madougu on my knees.  
"Why the hell…why the hell am I so nervous?" I mumbled out loud, eyes still scanning the room. I shook my head and blinked my eyes a bit. "Like that'll fucking clear my head? I got things to do.? Other than school, I got nothing to fucking do. No wait, beating up punks, that too...can't fucking forget that can I.?" A sudden movement made me swivel my head in that direction to see a shadow change due to the movement of my head.

"Stop being so freaking nervous! What the hell, that shadow bastard won't come after me. I'm not protecting Yanagi anymore!"

My room was silent, attempting to be neutral in this stupid argument I was having with myself. _Dammit__, it's too quiet._ I stood up, resting the anki on the arm of the chair as I walked over to my small stereo. Music blasted my ears and stole away my thoughts as I wandered over to my bed and fell asleep immediately upon laying down.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  


I stood covered by shadows as Yanagi ran down a corridor towards me. "Y…Yanagi?" I asked. I grinned then at waved at her. "Yanagi-nechan!" She stopped suddenly and hung her head, sand colored hair shading her eyes from my view. "Ya…Yanagi-nechan.?!" She looked up swiftly as I took a step towards her. I coughed out a lungful of air as the look of pure fear on her face hit me like a punch from the gorilla in the stomach. I took another step forwards, holding my arms out to her. "Ne…Yanagi-nechan…what's wrong?"  
She stumbled backwards, eyes growing wide and tears forming in their corners. The shadows that surrounded and moved with me suddenly lifted into the air and floated weightlessly above my head. "Wha?" The shadows swept down upon Yanagi and swallowed her in total blackness, dark and evil, her scream ringing in my ears.  
"YANAGI!!!!"  
A violent ringing sound shattered my restless nightmares. I smashed my alarm clock off the table and heard it crash to the ground. Bright sunlight glared in my eyes and blinded me momentarily and I looked out the window to a bright blue sky, white fluffy clouds, and a shiny yellow sun.  
"Dammit…" I had thrown my blanket halfway across the room, so I stood up groggily to pick it up and toss it back on my bed. Yawning, I brushed my hair back with a hand and looked out the window. 'Why the hell does the weather have to be so freakin' happy when I'm not...?' I blinked and looked at my watch. "Fuck! I'm late!!"  
I changed my pants, grabbed my school shirt and my bag, then paused as I past by the kougon anki. 'Should I...bring it? But…that bastard won't be following me.' I shook my head and grabbed the kougon anki and wrapped it up in a sheet. I looked to my door that I had kicked in last night. "Geh..." I quickly moved and barricaded the door with my bed and then ran towards the window, kougon anki wrapped up in right hand and bag in left, my school shirt shoved inside of it.  
"Wahoo!!" I jumped out of the window, forgetting to look out before.  
"What the~???" another voice shouted out before I landed on top of them.  
"Holy crap…that fucking hurt…" I said, rolling off of the person. "Sorry about that." I looked at the person I had flattened and realized it probably didn't hurt them that much. A punch flew at my face and I stumbled backwards to dodge it. "You're up early ^^."  
The guy that I had flattened was from my school also, his spiked up bleached hair had also been flattened slightly. I grinned at him when he stood up and gave me the finger.  
"What the fuck was that for??" he bellowed. "Jumping out of a freakin' window?!" I scratched my head.  
"Ah…gomen Koji-sempai…" I apologized quickly and not very truthfully. "An...so…why you up so early man? You usually come to school at lunch time." I grinned and dodged another punch from him.  
"Bastard. I'm tryin' to improve my record!" Koji replied, looking at his watch. "Fuck! It's already nine!" He bulled his way past me, knocking me over in the process. I rolled up to my feet and ran after him.  
"What the hell was that for??" I shouted at him, as I caught up.  
"You were in my fuckin' way!!" he bellowed back at me as we sprinted down the street, making people dodge out of our way. He looked at me when I rushed up to get ahead of him. "What the hell's that?"  
"What the hell's what?"  
"That thing you wrapped in a sheet!" he shouted, pointing a finger at the kougon anki. "What the hell is it??"  
"Hi-mi-tsu!" I shouted back, grinning at him and nearly running into a lamppost.

"Wahaha!! Idiot!!"

"Shuddup!!!"  
We arrived at the school and ran over a class of girls in PE uniforms that were jogging their way around the outskirts of our school.  
"Iiiiee!!!"  
"Aaaahhh!"  
"What do you boys think you're doing???"  
"I'm sorry! I didn't see them!" I said, bowing and hitting Koji in the shin with the kougon anki.  
"Fuck!! What the hell was that for bastard???" He grabbed me in a headlock and swung me around a few times, making the girls giggle at us. I caught the teacher glaring but she couldn't get to us because Koji was using me like a deadly weapon. I blinked as words tried to spring out of my mouth. _Taskete__ Yanagi-nechan! Domon-niichan let go!!.. Why the hell did they have to come back into my life?_ I saw Yanagi being swallowed by the shadows and gritted my teeth, my fang showing.  
"Don't hurt Yanagi!!" I shouted, grabbing Koji's arms and getting my feet on the floor.  
"Huh?" I planted my feet, stopping him from swinging me, and then flung him over my shoulder and nearly into the teacher. I panted momentarily then realized I had dropped my bag and the kougon anki in the process of throwing Koji. I looked around quickly and saw it lying in the dust, half of it showing through the sheet.  
"Ah!!" I ran towards it but two girls were already kneeling down to pick it up for me. They struggled to lift it and stared at the shiny madougu.  
"What's this?" one asked, putting her hand on kougon anki. The other one nodded and stared at it some more.  
"This...? Well...it's…" I started to explain, but I doubt they would believe me. _It's a madougu, a psychic device that I received from Kurei. He worked for Mori Kouran and I worked for Kurei, part of the Uruha._ Images passed through me, when I met Kurei and he saved me, kidnapping Yanagi, winning the Urabutosatojin as one of the Hokage...and how I had become isolated from them. _They still think that I'm a kid…because that's how I always had acted with them._  
"Kaoru-kun, you okay?" the first girl asked me, holding out the kougon anki out to me. "Ne…it's getting kind of heavy." I nodded and took my madougu back, seeing Yanagi being swallowed by the shadows.  
"Why the fuck should it matter how I act."  
"Kaoru-kun?"  
"Cheh. I'm not here to help you, nii-chan, I'm here to save Yanagi- nechan. Isn't that right, Recca?" I said out loud to myself, getting weird stares from the girls, the teacher, and Koji.  
"You okay Koganei?" A smirk appeared on my face, similar to my fanged grin.  
"People die sometimes, but if you love someone, you want them alive as long as possible, fuck the possibility that they could die from disease or accidents. You just want to keep them with you, safe, for as long as you fucking can." I finished, smirking and dropping my book bag onto the ground and wrapping the kougon anki up again.  
"Koganei-san stop that this instant!" the teacher said, swinging a paper fan at my head. I caught it easily with my free hand as I pulled out my summer school shirt from my bag and put it on unbuttoned over my sleeveless undershirt.  
"I agree with you, sensei." I said, looking at her and grinning. "I should stop acting like a fuckin' idiot and go help my friends, ne?" I smiled at her as she gaped at me. I rushed past her while she stared, still surprised by my weird actions.  
"Koganei??" Koji shouted at me as I dodged past him also. "Where the fuck you going?!" I ignored him and jumped over a group of girls who were standing together. They gasped as I flew over them. I rolled to the ground and was right back onto my feet, rushing out of the school.  
"Wait for me Yanagi, I'll protect you as one of the Hokage, and if that shadow bastard tries to fuckin kill you, I'll stop him!" I shouted, raising the kougon anki and nearly hitting a passerby in the head with it.  
  
TBC

I changed the title of this chapter a few times. Kind of seems that the story went into a more…happy tone? So I'm thinking about koganei is just gonna act however he wants…just to protect yanagi. Not sure if the story is going in good direction but…thanks for the reviews! ^_^ 

(yami-no-tenshi honto ni arigatou for making me continue the story :P)  
  



	10. Chapter 9: with open arms

Chapter Nine: With open arms

"K. . . Kaoru-kun?" Yanagi gasped and Recca started as he turned around to see what his Hime had looked so shocked about. His eyes widened also as his gaze fell upon my face.

".Koganei. . ." he mumbled the words, an incredulous expression on his face. The other members of the Hokage turned at his words and smiles bloomed on their faces.

"Koganei!!"

"Koganei, you bastard!" Domon shouted, grabbing me into a headlock. "You came back!!" I sweatdropped as the gorilla swung me about by my head. "From da way you left, we thought you'd never come back man! Damn, you scared us!"

"Oy, Domon! Let go of me, bastard!" I shouted, making him drop me onto my ass. He patted me on the head jokingly, messing up my spiky hair. "Damn! Quit it!!" He just smirked while the rest of my team mates ran up to me, smiles on their face. Mikagami stepped up to me, a slight smile on his face. I grinned up at him, then he slammed the hilt of the ensui into my face.

"FUCK!!!" I shouted, falling over and clutching my face. People turned to stare at me. "Fucking hell…" I looked and saw that I had run straight into a lamppost, so absorbed by my image of how everyone would welcome me back. I felt my nose and found out that it wasn't broken. 

"No matter how much it fucking hurts. . ." I muttered to myself, getting up and brushing my pants off. I wrapped the cloth around kougon anki tighter before setting off at a run again.

_This time…_ I thought, dodging a passerby. _…pay attention where you're damn running! Ahou!_ I mentally punched myself. 

I sprinted past Domon's flower shop, avoiding the half completed name that his mom called out to me. _Gomen__, obaa-san, I don't have time! I'll visit later!_ A smirk appeared on my face. _Damn, they're gonna be fucking surprised, ne?_

~*~*~

I exited the secret tunnel leading to the Hokage's hiding place, holding up the kougon anki cautiously. _I'm gonna act however I want I told myself. All that's important is protecting Yanagi. _The sun made my eyes close involuntarily as the light shone straight in my face. I shielded my eyes with my left hand and rested the kougon anki against my shoulder. 

"What the. . .?" Shadows covered the house and the field where we had trained a day ago. The bright green grass seemed a dull dark green when covered so. I shook my head and unwrapped the kougon anki. "Recca! Yanagi! Fuuko!" I shouted, running towards the darkest area of the enclosure, the house. "Mikagami! Domon! Kagero! Ganko! Minna!!" I slammed the sliding door to the side and tripped to the side, dodging a blade that flew at my face.

"K. . . Kaoru-kun?" Yanagi murmered, crouched beside Recca who was shielding both of them with Madoka. Recca flinched and turned to the front entrance, clutching his arm that dripped blood onto the floor, staining it.

"Koganei!" Recca and Domon shouted simultaneously, grins breaking out on their faces. Domon knelt on the ground, clutching kuchibashio in his hands. He lifted it and his grin widened.

"Che. . . fucking amazing the gorilla could hang onto his toy." I said, smirking. I turned to see Mikagami standing over Kagero and Ganko, who both had cuts on their faces and arms. My smirk turned into a frown as shadows flew down to meet me.

_Fuuko…_

Fuuko was in a half sitting position, she seemed unconscious from multiple attacks by the shadows that smashed her against the wall. Blood dripped from a cut on her forehead onto her white shirt.

I slashed the shadow blade that whizzed towards my face, threatening to finish me off. _This fucking bastard. . . he doesn't fucking care about anyone at all!!_

"Don't fucking hurt Yanagi!!" 

TBC

I wrote this at midnight w/my mom bugging me to get off the computer . . . ~sweatdrops~ I think the story is getting worse . . . or maybe I have to idea what to write . . . I need to make this shadow guy more interesting than shadow blades . . . ~goes to bed~ Btw about "…with open arms" is kind of like, he wanted them to accept him back with open arms…happily an all and expected it to be a cutesy thing where they all go chibi and welcome him back…they still welcomed him back but not in a the same way he expected.


	11. Chapter 10: First Appearance

Chapter Ten: First Appearance

I fell flat on the ground, smashing my forearm into the kougon anki as multiple shadow blades shot in my direction. "Dammit!!" I rolled into a kneeling position and switched kougon anki from kiba to ryu, throwing the sickle to block a shadow blade that flew towards the still unconscious Fuuko.  
"Koganei!" I turned to see who had bellowed my name, and saw Recca dashing towards me. "Cover me, I'm gonna get Fuuko!" I sweatdropped and ran to intercept the blades that rained down upon us faster than ever.  
"Kougon Anki, fourth form, mizuaki, boomerang!" I shouted, quickly transforming my madougu again and blocking the blades with it. I glared up at the shadows in the corner, racking my brain for a way to deal with this enemy.  
I thought, raising kougon anki to block another attack. I blinked as Mikagami rushed towards the corner of the room, ensui raised. "Mikagami!" Red blood stained his t-shirt as he was cut on the shoulder by an unavoidable blade but he still slashed the shadows in half.  
Mikagami flew backwards, smashing hard into the ground as shadows rammed into him. Recca looked up swiftly from looking down on Fuuko, focusing on his teammate's inert body. "Mikagami!! Daijobu ka??" Mikagami slowly propped himself up with his arms, nodding slowly.  
"Ah…I'm fine…" he replied shakily, as a dark form started materializing in the corner where Mikagami attacked. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Yanagi scurry over to where Recca was cradling Yanagi in his arms, and then focused my attention on the man leaning against the walls of Kagero's house. He wore all black clothing, accompanied by a black mask that covered his whole head like a garbage bag.  
I stood up, switching from mizuaki to an. "You're the bastard who wants to kill Yanagi." The rest of the conscious Hokage also stood up and fixed murderous glares on the stranger. I backed off so I was standing side by side with Recca, who looked like he was going to leap on the guy and rip him to pieces.  
"Teme…" Recca growled under his breath, cracking his knuckles. I flung a hand in front of his face, making him blink and turn chibi. "Oy Koganei! What the hell you think you're doing??"  
"Relax, Recca." I said, moving my hand back quickly because of the look on Recca's face told me he would bite it. I sweatdropped as I fitted the arrow to the bow string and drew it, pointing directly at the man in the shadows. Recca clenched his fist tightly then exhaled loudly, looking up with a wide smirk on his face.  
"When the hell have I listened to your orders, Koganei?" he said, grinning like an idiot and writing a character in the air. "Na~"  
"Fuujin!!!" A blast of air shot from Fuuko's madougu and smashed into the stranger. "How'd you like that, bastard! That's for hitting me like that!" Fuuko shouted, waving her fist at the man. In perfect unison, Recca and I sweatdropped. Domon lumbered up to us, kuchibashio in check.  
"You okay, Fuuko-sama?" he asked, wiping some blood off of his face. She grinned and nodded, pointing towards Yanagi who wiped her bangs out of her eyes. The two girls exchanged smiles.  
"Thanks to Yanagi-chan." Fuuko replied, stretching and taking out her sharp, needle like kunai.  
"Sakoshita…Yanagi…"  
We all looked up as one to where Fuuko's blast of wind had smashed the corner of the house in. A hand punched its way through the rubble followed by the rest of the man's body.  
"Hehehehehe…Fools…Why do you protect this girl that causes you so much pain?"  
Recca yawned and brushed his bangs out of his hair as well. "Where have we heard this from before?" I smirked and glanced at Recca.  
"Perhaps from a certain letter?" I replied, happy that Recca had calmed down. Perhaps to prove me wrong, Recca rushed forwards, writing a character as he went.  
"Saiha!!" A fire blade appeared on the tekkou that sealed his 'hidden strength'. I sighed and shot the arrow straight at the enemy.  
"Feh" The shadow man raised his hand and darkness filled the whole room once again, my arrow bouncing off an invisible force. "You all still struggle to survive, to protect one meager life?" He pointed a finger towards Yanagi who stood behind Fuuko and Domon, her hands clutched together. "Can't you see I'm helping you?"  
Domon bellowed in pain, falling to his knees as blood spurted from his shoulder. "Wha~ What the fuck was that???" A slash appeared on Fuuko's face as she looked to see if Domon was okay.  
"Ah!!" she yelped in surprise, clapping a hand to the fresh slash on her face. "What is this??"  
"Darkness…" Mikagami murmured, appearing beside them and helping Domon up. "His attacks are shadow based, and with no light his attacks appear invisible. He can't make all of the darkness attack us, but his shadow blades can't be seen now…" I heard Recca snort derisively and a character was written once again in flame.  
"Nadare, let's stop this foolishness now." Recca said; the fireballs quickly were lighting up the room again. He looked back at the rest of us, crouched around Yanagi defensively. A grin appeared on his face.  
"What the hell you guys doing?" He laughed. "Let's finish this bastard off." He pointed to the now visible man who now leant against a different portion of the wall, hand raised. A matching fanged grin materialized on my face.  
"Roger!!"  
  
TBC

  
 I kept on loosing my train of thought on this fic…wrote the 1st paragraph…an forgot was I was writing *sweatdrops* an then wrote bit more an didn't have any ideas again…


	12. Chapter 11: Darkness

Changing Times  
[By Tenken]  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Recca no honoo or any of its characters. Rating:  
  
A/N: Ahh!! Now I know wat's been happening!! ~smacks computer~ ahou!! I reread chapter 10 . . . and I usually put my (koganei's) thoughts into bracket kind of things rite? Its been deleted! That's y I sometimes have sentences that go " I thought, as I" with the I thought as the beginning of the sentence . . . ~bonks computer~ baaakkaaa! Am changing it . . . so " " is speech and '___' is thought (w/out the ___)  
  
~sweatdrops~ on a lighter note . . . arigatou for da 2 reviews ^^  
  
Kenren19- hehe . . . I usually make my chapters short cause . . . ~whisper~ I tend to lose my inspiration . . . it kinda dies on my lah, or else I like makin bad cliffhangers ^^;  
  
Yami no tenshi- ah! Ur rite!! ~bonks self on head~ baka!! ^^; me not u . . . hehe . . . I didn't realize dat but when I reread it . . . found it an it sounds really stupid :P yah I meant I saw Yanagi scurry over to where Recca was cradling Fuuko in his arms . . . at least u could understand it ne . . .? ~bonk self on head again~ gomen! I'll stop wastin ppl's times again an write :P ~bow~ introducing da nxt chapter!  
  
Changing Times  
Chapter 11  
"Darkness"  
  
A gash opened on my shoulder but I gritted my teeth and dodged the next shadow dagger that threatened to rip a hole in me and send me to the next life. 'Like there is another bloody life', I thought to myself, still gritting my teeth in a semblance of a grin. I felt the cold metal of the kougon anki as I smoothly switched it from an to ryu.  
  
The bag like mask worn by our mysterious enemy suddenly moved as if its wearer had exhaled sharply and suddenly. Recca's rush ground to a halt and the rest of us stopped also, looking at him with question marks popping up above our heads.  
  
"Ne . . . Recca." Fuuko began, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "Why~"  
  
"~The hell did we stop??" Domon finished for her, raising his fist that held the chain of kuchibashio.  
  
"This bastard's mocking us." Recca said, looking at us with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I wanna take him on myself, an' I don't need any help, so don't interrupt." I recognized that look in his eyes, and I think everyone else did as well.  
  
'The same look when he fought Kurei . . . He'd rather fight and finish a battle himself than win having help . . .'  
  
"You . . . may call me Shadow . . ." the bagged man said in a rasping voice. He stopped leaning against the wall and stepped forwards, holding his arms wide. A wet cough resonated through Kagero's house as we waited for more. "A childish sort of name . . . to be used by a childish lot of people . . ."  
  
"Childish?" Recca said in a dangerous tone of voice. "How the hell are we childish??"  
  
"It's been explained to you . . . so many times and yet you don't understand . . ." the rasping voice replied. "I'm helping all of you . . ."  
  
A crunching sound was clearly heard as Recca's fist smashed into where Shadow's face would have been, without the mask. The two stood frozen in that stance, neither falling or backing off.  
  
"Please, you've got to be fucking joking." Recca said from behind clenched teeth. "How the fuck will killing Hime fucking help us?!" He released his fist and gripped instead, the front of the man's shirt. "How the hell will her death make life fucking better for us!?" I blinked as Recca flung Shadow into the air to send him crashing into the ground.  
  
Another rasping cough racked Shadow's body as he lay on the ground. I looked down upon the crumpled form of the man who had threatened Yanagi's safety, and realized how pitiful he looked. His arms shook as he attempted to lever himself up and I took a step forward but was blocked by Domon. I glared as I switched my gaze to his face.  
  
"Move, Gorilla." He shook his head and kept his arm thrust forwards, blocking me from the form on the floor. "He can't bloody hurt us anymore, look? So let me fucking go!"  
  
"Koganei . . ."  
  
I ducked under his arm quickly, still being shorter than him. 'Fuck, everyone's shorter than Domon!' I moved over to where Shadow lay, close but not within arms reach. Another pitiful attempt to get into a sitting position failed and Shadow now flopped onto his back.  
  
"Promise you won't hurt Yanagi." I said, squatting down near him. "Promise, and we'll let you go."  
  
"Who the hell says we'll let him fucking go??" Recca bellowed, stomping his way towards us. I looked back at him and shook my head, glaring. "You actually think he'll keep his bloody promise? People like him lie all the fucking time!!"  
  
"I won't . . ."  
  
I looked down on the bag like mask that covered Shadow's face and subconsciously leaned slightly forwards to hear what he was going to say.  
  
". . . disagree with the brat . . ." Shadow rasped, getting slowly to his feet. "Swearing I won't kill the girl . . . won't help you . . . I will destroy all of the madougu . . . as well as Sakoshita . . ." His hand moved swiftly to his pocket and I brought up the kougon anki into a defensive position as he withdrew a black orb.  
  
A white flame grew in the orb's depths and spread until the whole sphere was white other than the black character blazoned on it. "Shadow . . ." Darkness enveloped me again, and this time I couldn't see the others. This time I couldn't see anything but darkness.  
  
Chapter 11 END  
  
A/N 2: ahahaha . . . I just kinda realized halfway thro da chapter that shadow's objectives r to kill Yanagi and ~point to the 'and'~ destroy the madougus . . . ~sweatdrops~ its kinda bad having a person with bad memory writing a fanfic ur reading ne readers? Hehe . . . Another note is I think my stories r getting shorter not longer . . . gomen kenren-san! ~bow~ if I can bully my inspiration to give me more ideas . . . maybe we'll see a longer chapter! And if I start now . . . ~bonks inspiration on the head~ maybe it'll be very helpful in the nxt chapter, ne inspiration-kun?  
  
Tenken's inspiration: -_-;;; or I could just not help u at all . . . Tenken: Eh??? U better not . . . anyway I finally thought of shadow's background . . .kinda sad ne? ^^; Inspiration: Yah . . . Tenken: its your fault u know!! ~throttles inspiration~ Inspiration: o_O;;;; taskete!!!  
  
^^; I think I want to sleep when I start talking w/my inspiration like dat lah . . . um . . . one question to da ppl who review this story, can u tell me:  
  
What's the Japanese word for 'Shadow'?  
  
Cause I was gonna call Shadow . . . the Japanese word for it but couldn't remember, is it Kage? Like Kage-Houshi? 


	13. Chapter 12: The Hokage

A/N: Can someone suggest a different nickname for Kage . . . other than Kage? ^^; if someone suggests a good name I'll change it k? ^^ Another note . . . anyone wanna read an original (-ish) fic I've been writing? just tell me in a review/email if u interested! (haven't uploaded it to fanfic.net) Last note I promise! ^^; in this chapter . . . POV is gonna change few times . . .  
  
Chapter 12 "The Hokage"  
  
Shadows engulfed me, surrounding me in darkness. I lashed out with the kougon anki, attempting to part the shadows, but to no avail. The dark void around me stayed put, showing only black everywhere I looked.  
  
"Recca! Yanagi!" I bellowed, looking around for the faintest spark, the smallest dot of light in the distance. "Fuuko! Mikagami! Domon!!"  
  
'Shouting for the gorilla for help . . .' I mumbled to myself. 'I have to be desperate, ne?' I paused and exhaled loudly, trying to calm myself down. 'This must be the power of his madougu, since he can control shadows of course he can use them in this way . . .' Shouldering my madougu, I started walking around slowly, feeling the ground with my feet.  
  
"I wonder if everyone else is stuck in this . . ." I said out loud, wincing at how my voice interrupted the silence that surrounded me. "Fuck . . . I can't depend on them getting me out've this place." I blinked. "This reminds me of Magensha. Maybe this isn't shadows covering me . . ." I turned and looked about again. "It could be another dimension, one that has no light?"  
  
I started walking faster as images of the rest of the Hokage lost in this world of darkness alone filled my head. The farther I walked, the angrier I became. I started growling threats directed at Kage under my breath. "Fucking bastard . . . trying to bloody hurt Yanagi . . . everyone . . . If I catch that asshole . . ."  
  
Without knowing it, my pace quickened and soon I was sprinting through the darkness. "How the hell am I supposed to know where the fuck I am??" I shouted to myself in between pants. I stopped as I realized the first option wasn't possible. "If I was just covered in shadows . . . I would still be in Kagero-san's house, I would've run into a wall by now . . ."  
  
"Great . . . so now I'm not covered in shadows," I muttered to myself. "I'm just in a new fucking dimension where Kage rules . . . _ Damndamndamndamn!!" I started running again, slashing with Kougon anki. "There has to be an end to this damn place somewhere!!!"  
  
(Change of POV to Recca's POV)  
  
'Damn Koganei! What the hell's his problem??' I shouted to myself as the teen knelt in front of the fallen Kage. 'When we finally get the bastard where we want him, he fucking becomes sympathetic??'  
  
"Promise you won't hurt Yanagi. Promise, and we'll let you go."  
  
A vein stood out on my forehead as I clenched my teeth tightly. "Who the hell says we'll let him fucking go??" I bellowed, starting to approach the two. 'That bastard will hurt Hime the first chance he gets!' "You actually think he'll keep his bloody promise? People like him lie all the fucking time!!"  
  
Another voice entered our argument. "I won't . . . disagree with the brat . . ." Kage rasped, getting back on his feet. I quickly changed my stance, ready to dodge his shadows. "Swearing I won't kill the girl . . . won't help you . . . I will destroy all the madougu . . . as well as Sakoshita . . ."  
  
'This bastard won't learn~'  
  
Kage suddenly took out his madougu, which began to glow. "Koganei!!" I shouted. "Get the hell away from him!!" I formed a flame on my arm and rushed towards the two. Koganei, who was staring at the orb, was surrounded by shadows and when they dissipated, he was gone. "Koganei . . ." I stopped, staring at where my companion had knelt seconds earlier.  
  
"Kaoru-kun . . ." Hime whispered, her eyes starting to fill with tears.  
  
"What'd you do to Koganei, you bastard???" Domon bellowed, literally shaking the walls of Kaa-chan's house. "What the fuck did you do to him??" Shadow coughed again then I could swear he smirked.  
  
"He's gone."  
  
"GONE??" Once again, I knew the bastard smirked at Domon's reaction. The gorilla sensed it also, amazingly for him, and he bellowed while he threw the kuchibashio at Kage. The madougu was blasted away by a wave of darkness emitted from Kage's hand, sending it flying across the room and smashing a hole in the wooden walls.  
  
Splinters and chunks of wood flew through the air and I quickly moved to block them from hitting Hime. "Daijobu deska, Hime?" She looked up and nodded, brushing the tears out of her eyes quickly.  
  
"I'm fine Recca-kun . . ." I grinned at her and started to get up when Fuuko and Mikagami dashed by me, their madougu's at the ready.  
  
"Recca! Stay back and we'll handle this guy!" Fuuko shouted, looking back quickly with a big grin on her face.  
  
"Protect Yanagi-san." Mikagami said, not turning around.  
  
"Urusai Mikagami!" I shouted back at him, making a fist. "I'd protect Hime even if you didn't ask! Ahou!" I gritted my teeth and stood up, ready to protect her from any of that bastard's attacks.  
  
(Koganei's POV)  
  
My legs felt weak and I sat down panting, sweat running down my face. 'Damndamn . . . dammit!! This place doesn't go anywhere!!' I thought, quickly wiping off the sweat with my shirt. "I've been running for bloody hours! Where the hell is everyone??" I dropped kougon anki and flopped onto my back, still breathing hard.  
  
"Its like a night sky . . ." I murmured to the darkness surrounding me. I sweatdropped. "Well . . . one without any stars . . . or a moon . . ." I turned my head to look to the side. "Damn . . . why the hell is it so freakin' quiet??"  
  
(Recca POV)  
  
"Madoka!" I quickly wrote the character in the air and a shield formed, blocking the sudden flurry of shadow blades that had shot towards Hime. "Damn! Can't you guys get that bastard yet??" I shouted at my three friends who kept on being knocked back.  
  
"Aren't you interested where your friend went?" Kage asked, creating a shield of shadows to block a blast from the fuujin. Mikagami glared coldly at the man then stabbed the ensui into the ground, sending icicles bursting through the ground towards Kage.  
  
A growl began to form in the back of my throat as the man dodged the attack and sent back one of his own.  
  
"To a world full of darkness. A place void of light. Where time goes faster than in our world." Kage said calmly, brushing his shirt off. "I hope he's enjoying himself there." The deadpan way the bastard said those words . . . pissed me off, pushed me off the brink.  
  
"To let a bastard like you . . . fucking have your way . . . would be a fucking insult to the Hokage!!" I shouted, jumping to my feet and planting my feet. I wrote a character in the air. "Get the hell out've the way if you don't wanna get hit!" Fuuko, Domon, and even Mikagami scrambled out of the way as a one eyed dragon appeared behind me.  
  
"Kokuu!!"  
  
Multiple shadow blades flew at me but were obliterated against Madoka's shield. I looked up at the dragon hovering above me with his small orb clutched in one claw. 'Jiji . . . I bet you hate this bastard as much as me ne?'  
  
(A/N: I know when recca tells da dragons to do a move . . . it has a name . . . I think its Nadare = dan en . . . saiha = ben en . . . have no clue wat kokuu's is . . .)  
  
"Kokuu!!" I pointed towards Kage, who stood there, most likely smirking. I turned chibi and gave him a fanged grin. "You think I can't control him? Ne, Jiji, let's show him!"  
  
(Koganei's POV)  
  
It was hard . . . to think of anything with all this darkness pressing down on me, its weight heavy on every part of my body. 'I hope . . . everyone else is fine . . .' I thought, staring blankly at the sky. 'Is it the sky? Or am I laying with my face against the floor . . .'  
  
I tried to sit up but my body didn't seem to be listening to me. 'Damn it . . . move . . . what's the point in sitting up . . . only going to be the same everywhere . . . Gomen Yanagi . . . I couldn't ~'  
  
Bright light glared in my eyes as I dropped onto the wooden floor of Kagero's house. I blinked and heard the metallic clang of the kougon anki landing after me. I heard swearing and . . . familiar voices.  
  
"Get back here bastard!!"  
  
"Let him go, gorilla."  
  
"Who're you calling a gorilla??"  
  
"Kaoru-kun! Daijobu deska?"  
  
I tried to cover my eyes from the glaring light but I couldn't move my arms; a numb sort of feeling had settled in me. I blinked as multiple people kneeled down next to me.  
  
"Koganei! You okay?" Recca asked, whacking me on the shoulder lightly. I flinched then saw everyone's faces as my eyes adjusted to the light. There was even some worry on Mikagami's face.  
  
"I'm fine . . ." I mumbled, attempting to sit up but failing miserably.  
  
"You sure??" Domon shouted, going chibi. I sweatdropped and nodded slightly.  
  
"Arigatou minna . . . Tadaima ne?"  
  
Chapter 12 - End 


	14. Chapter 13: Discussions

Chapter 13- Discussions  
  
I dumped my armful load of wooden planks behind Recca and the gorilla, both trying to cover up the hole in Kagero's wall. Whacking Recca lightly upside the head, I knelt down next to him and grinned.  
  
"Ne, why do we have to help fix the wall?" I asked, grinning at Domon. "When~"  
  
"~it was a certain sea monkey who made the hole." Mikagami finished, earning a sweatdrop from all three of us. Recca gritted his teeth to stop himself from breaking a board on Mikagami's head.  
  
'Not exactly what I would've said but . . .' I looked sideways at the angry chibi Recca who hammered in another board with more force than necessary. 'I think I like this reaction more . . .'  
  
"You have to stay still, Fuuko." Yanagi said patiently, trying to keep Fuuko from jumping up.  
  
"Yanagi-chan," Fuuko replied in a voice that sounded just as patient. "I'm fine, I'm just gonna go and help everyone fix the mess we made in Kagero-san's house." I glanced behind me and looked at Fuuko, who looked bored out of her mind.  
  
I went back outside to the small, forested area outside of Kagero's house and looked up at the sky. "Damn . . . they have no idea how fucking nice this looks . . ." I said to myself, grinning at the azure heavens above me, dotted with white fluffy clouds that migrated slowly in the winds. Involuntarily, a shudder racked my body as I remembered the bleak, silent darkness of Kage's dimension. "Bastard . . . I'm not a bloody kid afraid of the dark but . . . anyone would be . . . anyone would hate being in that place."  
  
"Koganei! Get more boards!" Recca shouted from inside the house. I sighed and stored away my musings for later.  
  
"Wakatta!!" I shouted, heading off.  
  
It had taken an excruciating amount of time, but we finally boarded up the huge hole that Recca had made in his mom's house. We sat down on the cushions that surrounded the fire pit, that mess had been cleaned up by Yanagi as I lugged heavy planks about the house and surrounding area.  
  
"Thank you for helping me clean up the mess." Kagero said, handing out food that she had prepared, before settling down onto her own cushion.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Kagero-san!" Fuuko replied cheerfully, her chibi face smiling widely. "We made the mess, we should clean it up!"  
  
"Well . . ." I began, a small grin forming on my face. "It wasn't all us . . . it was mostly~" A death glare from Recca persuaded me to shut my mouth.  
  
"~a sea monkey's doings." Mikagami finished once again. Recca turned to glare at him but Mikagami's face turned serious as he turned to face the rest of the Hokage. "The main reason this place got so damaged, however, is because of Kage . . . or the man who calls himself that."  
  
As I looked, the grins and smiles melted off of my friends' faces, leaving grim, serious visages. I glanced over at Recca, who was looking down at the floor, his teeth gritted tightly and his hands balled into tight fists.  
  
"Does anyone have any idea why Kage wants to destroy the madougus and Yanagi-san?" Mikagami asked. "Or can hazard a guess?" (A/N: gomen I think he's very OOC . . . ^^;)  
  
"Maybe its something to do with the Urabutosatojin," Fuuko said, resting her chin on her palm. "He knows about our participation in it, and plenty of people were hurt during the fights . . ."  
  
"Maybe he was fighting in it!" Domon said, leaning forwards. "Dat's why he has the madougu!"  
  
I leaned back, stifling a sigh. 'They seem to be enjoying this discussion . . .' I thought to myself. 'But there are a shit-load too many maybes in there for me to trust. There's no bloody point in this . . .'  
  
I looked around at my teammates, Domon, Fuuko, Kagero and Mikagami seemed engrossed in their little debate. Recca and Yanagi, however, were both staring at the ground, offering no pieces of wisdom to the discussion. 'They seem to be enjoying this as much as I am . . .' A small smirk appeared briefly on my face before disappearing again.  
  
A sigh escaped my lips, this time I didn't bother attempting to mask it. The discussions had gone on for an hour, and I was getting fucking sick of it. The vein standing out on Recca's forehead testified that he felt likewise.  
  
"Maybe he was one of the Uruha!" Domon shouted brightly. Fuuko grinned and nodded.  
  
"That's why he wants to kill Yanagi . . ." Fuuko mumbled, then thought for a moment. "Or then wouldn't he want to capture her for Kouran?" Mikagami nodded and then mumbled another reason.  
  
"Why the can't these assholes leave Hime alone??" Recca shouted, jumping up to his feet. "Why the hell do they wanna hurt her??" I glanced at Yanagi who was still kneeling on her cushion, eyes downcast and expression full of sadness.  
  
"That's what we're trying to find out." Mikagami replied calmly, also standing up.  
  
"How the hell are you fucking finding out why??" Recca bellowed, pointing a finger in Mikagami's face. "This is getting nowhere!!" I gritted my teeth as well at Mikagami's calm answer.  
  
"We're trying our best to find out."  
  
"Why does it fucking matter if people wanna fucking hurt Yanagi? Why they fucking wanna destroy the madougus?" I said calmly, other than the multiple swear words that popped into my sentence. Standing up also, I faced the rest of the Hokage, my gaze resting on Yanagi's sad face for a moment longer.  
  
"All we gotta do is protect Yanagi." I finished, staring at both Recca and Mikagami with a hint of a glare in my eyes. Recca blinked once, then grinned at me. Mikagami, however, turned to me with that calm look still on his face.  
  
"If we discover the motives behind his actions, it will increase the chance of us defeating him."  
  
"And I'm sure all this guessing is fucking working!" I shouted at him, sarcasm evident in the tone of my voice. Mikagami's expression didn't change, he was used to Recca and Domon loosing their temper with him. I bent down to pick up kougon anki and straightened with it in my grip.  
  
"Koganei . . . wat're you doing . . .?" Recca asked nervously, backing off a few paces. I turned and started walking towards the door. "Where the hell do you think you're going??"  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" I replied, not looking back. "Out. I can't listen to this crap any longer." I went down a stair when I heard Mikagami step outside as well.  
  
"Why don't you take Yanagi-san with you?" I stopped in midstep and stumbled down the rest of the stairs onto the green grass. Turning to look at him with wide eyes, I heard Recca's shout from inside the house.  
  
"WHAT????" Recca bellowed, rushing out to slam into Mikagami. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU~" Mikagami covered his mouth quickly with one hand, earning a stunned silence from the flame caster.  
  
"I don't think Yanagi-san is enjoying these discussions either . . ." Mikagami said slightly slowly, eying Recca nervously. "Maybe she also shout go out . . . If you're with her she's relatively safe from Kage."  
  
I looked from Mikagami's face to Recca's, who looked like he was going to bite Mikagami's hand off in a minute. Then I turned my gaze to Yanagi who had stepped outside and was standing off to the side, her head still bowed.  
  
Shrugging, I turned around and walked through the grass towards the secret tunnel that led back to the outside world. I heard Yanagi's soft footsteps falling behind me as we entered the dark tunnel and smiled slightly.  
  
((Recca POV))  
  
I smacked Mikagami's arm aside. "What the fuck's wrong with you Mikagami??? Why the hell did you send Hime with Koganei?!"  
  
"I'm trying to draw Kage out, onto a battle field of our own choosing. That's why we must leave now, so we can follow them." I blinked.  
  
"So . . . you did this to get Kage?" I asked, cracking my knuckles. He ignored me and appeared to be thinking. Domon and Fuuko came out of the house to watch us, and sweatdropped as Mikagami turned chibi.  
  
"I'm hoping to, at least . . . to get a battle where we aren't caught completely off guard . . ."  
  
"TEME!!" I shouted at him, grabbing the front of his shirt. "You're using Hime as bait to get a fucking battle like that??" Mikagami sweatdropped once, then nodded.  
  
"But we have to go quickly, or we'll lose them." He replied nervously, looking towards the tunnel entrance. I frowned but let go of his shirt front.  
  
"Don't think I've fucking forgiven you yet."  
  
"Don't worry, I don't."  
  
Chapter 13- END  
  
Moonlight2: Arigatou for da review, tho I just realize in HMR I wrote ur nick as moonlight12 gomen! ~bows~ Yami no tenshi: ~sweatdrops~ dun think Kage would give the Hokage an insulting nickname for them to call him . . . would be funny if he did ^^ Bad guy: You . . . may call me Kagecchi-chan . . . a childish sort of name . . . to be used by a childish lot of people . . . Hokage: ~sweatdrops~ baaaaka . . . 


	15. Chapter 14: The Outing

Chapter 14: "The Outing"  
  
"Ne, Kaoru-kun . . ."  
  
"Hai, Yanagi?" Not adding 'ne-chan' out loud and not just in my head sounded weird coming from my mouth. Well, it wasn't exactly like I was that little kid still but . . .  
  
"What did you do all that time . . . when you left us?" she asked, holding her two hands clasped in front of her, her gaze turned downward as we walked. I blinked then put my hands in my pockets and looked up at the blue sky.  
  
"Mostly schooling," I said in reply, a small mental grin forming. "It was really boring 'cause it's too easy for me. It's just like any high school, I even have my own gorilla to beat up." I turned and grin and her, and was rewarded by a smile on her face.  
  
We continued our walk down the street, passing by stores and shops, shoppers bringing home ingredients for dinner, people working, students taking a break on their hard earned weekend.  
  
'None of them noticing a teenage guy and girl walking down the road, even if the guy was holding a huge wrapped up object . . .' I thought to myself, sweatdropping. I smiled unconsciously as I looked at their expressions, happiness, two school girls laughing together, sadness, anger . . .  
  
'Normal people . . .' I thought wryly. 'Normal people who don't worry if the shadow in the corner of the wall, the shadow cast by that overhang, will turn around and stab you in the back . . .'  
  
"Kaoru-kun?"  
  
"Ah . . . gomen Yanagi I wasn't paying attention.' Another smile graced her face, and a rage flashed through me.  
  
'Kage that bastard . . . all because of him she hasn't been smiling . . .' I thought, clenching my hand into a fist.  
  
"I noticed." She said the words softly, nicely to me, as our slow walk ate up the pavement.  
  
'Nicely . . . unlike that dumbass gorilla.' An image of chibi Domon grabbing me in a head lock and swinging me around by my head popped up. Chibi Domon bellowing at me, "Koganei, why the hell weren't you listening??" I waved away the distracting image as I heard Yanagi continue.  
  
"I was wondering what happened . . . why you were unconscious in that alleyway when Recca-kun and I found you . . ."  
  
'I can't tell her I was picking a fight with them . . .' I thought, sweatdropping. Giving Yanagi a sideways glance, she was looking at me and smiling, waiting for a reply. "Um . . . well, the truth is Yanagi . . ."  
  
((Recca POV))  
  
"What the hell are they saying??" I whispered angrily. "Move out've the way Mikagami!" I grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him backwards, quickly moving forwards to take his place. Poking my head around the corner, I saw Hime and Koganei slow to a stop and sit down on a bench in the park.  
  
"Dumb sea monkey . . ." Mikagami mumbled to himself as he got into a kneeling position.  
  
"Shuddup! I can't hear them!" I snapped . . . quietly though. 'Damn Mikagami and his damn plans!' I shouted in my head. 'Using Hime as fucking bait!! If Kage hurts one hair on Hime's head . . . I'll . . .'  
  
I blinked as Fuuko's elbow landed on the top of my head, making me flop to the ground. "Wat the hell was that for . . .??" I growled at her, gritting my teeth.  
  
"Stop muttering under your breath Recca!" She whispered back. Then she looked at me and smiled momentarily. "Don't worry . . . we won't let anything happen to Yanagi-chan. ^^ "  
  
"Ah . . ." I sat up and stared at Koganei and Hime again, who were sitting but not talking to each other. "Kuso . . . Damn Kage . . . he better not hurt Hime . . ." I continued muttering curses and threats under my breath, only slightly hearing Fuuko's sigh.  
  
((Koganei POV)  
  
"So . . ." I said tentatively, not sure of Yanagi's mood. She had fallen silent after I had told her about the fight. "Etto . . . Yanagi . . .?" She blinked then looked up at me with tears in her eyes. 'EH??? Why's she crying?? Damn! Recca's gonna kill me if he finds out!!!'  
  
"Gomen Kaoru-kun . . ." she mumbled, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. I sweatdropped and shook my head, holding my hands up.  
  
"Iie! Daijobu daijobu Yanagi!" I said quickly, grinning and hoping she'd not tell Recca about this.  
  
"I'm . . . kind of sleepy . . ." she finished, looking up and smiling. I sweatdropped then sighed in relief. "Anyway, Kaoru-kun, I think you're a lot like Recca-kun." I looked at her and blinked.  
  
"How so?" I asked, grinning. She smiled back at me and looked up at the gradually darkening sky.  
  
"He used to . . ."  
  
We talked for a long time, and the years that we all had spent apart seemed to melt away. (A/N: I know its corny!! _ no ideas!!) A grin seemed to be glued to my face, I couldn't help it, Yanagi was smiling almost constantly as well. She had told me all of the stupid stories that seemed to surround the Hokage, of the dumb fights between Recca and Domon, Recca and Mikagami, and sometimes all three of them.  
  
I laughed as Yanagi finished telling another story of a get together at the Hanabishi residence. She smiled at me and I grinned back, at least after I wiped away the tears of laughter out of my eyes. The beeping of my watch suddenly made me look at the time, and at the area around us.  
  
"Damn!" I growled, jumping up and grabbing the kougon anki which had been leaning against the bench during our discussions. Yanagi jumped up, startled and looked at me with wide eyes, the smile that previously had graced her face was now gone.  
  
"What's wrong, Kaoru-kun?" she asked in a surprised voice. I unwrapped my madougu, more worried of being caught unawares by Kage than being stared at by passer byers. I looked around swiftly, noting how many shadows occupied the deserted park around us.  
  
"Nothing . . . I just think . . ." I broke off in mid sentence as I saw a shadow move. I exhaled in relief as I saw it was my own shadow. "Lucky . . . I think we should head back, ne Yanagi?" I tried to smile but my nervousness didn't let me.  
  
"Kaoru-kun!" I blinked and dodged to the side swiftly; more from instinct than from Yanagi's shouted warning. Two shadow blades smashed solidly into the ground where I had stood a second before.  
  
"I can't believe . . . you Hokage are so childish . . . leaving Sakoshita unprotected . . ." that now familiar rasping voice said from the shadows. I gritted my teeth and got in front of Yanagi, before realizing we were totally surrounded, in the center of a ring of shadows.  
  
END  
  
Cliffhanger ne? ^^; think I love them . . . dunno I always use them to end da story I think :P hm . . . u got ur answer ne yami-san? ^_^ arigatou for da review!  
  
Mikagami: ~Has Yanagi at end of fishing pole~ Um . . . bait for Kagecchi- chan?  
  
Recca: GET HIME OFF OF THAT!!! ~Punches Mikagami~ 


	16. Chapter 15: Surrounded

Chapter 15: "Surrounded and Unaided"  
  
I gritted my teeth, looking around for a breach in the circle of shadows that surrounded us. "Dammit . . ." I muttered to myself, switching kougon anki from kiba to ryu. "Why the hell can't you leave us alone Kage?" I narrowed my eyes and waited for a reply, gripping the sickle part of my madougu tightly.  
  
"You already . . know why . . Koganei Kaoru . . ." Kage rasped in reply. I turned my head in the direction of his voice and prepared to throw the sickle, when I heard Yanagi's shriek of fright.  
  
"Iiyaaa!!!" Yanagi screamed, her wide eyes fixed on her shadow that was pasted on the ground. I stumbled, stopping my attack at the last minute and turned to her.  
  
"Daijobu deska Yanagi?" I shouted, bringing the sickle up. "What happened?" 'Fuck, I can't fight this bastard straight out, or he'll attack Yanagi from behind!' She wordlessly pointed down at her shadow. "What? It's just~"  
  
I sweatdropped as the shadow lifted itself off of the tiled park grounds to hover threateningly in front of us. "~a shadow . . . Damn!" I grabbed Yanagi by the waist and quickly moved her to the side as her shadow smashed a hole in the ground where she was seconds earlier. "Daijobu?" She nodded quickly, eyes now fixed on the small crater in the stone tiles.  
  
Placing Yanagi back on her feet, I crouched low and circled around her, my madougu held up at the ready and my eyes scanning the shadows surrounding us. Yanagi's shadow stood unmoving, until it sprang forward with unearthly speed, slamming into my shoulder and knocking me off balance.  
  
"Yaah!!" I quickly slashed the shadow from waist to the opposite shoulder with the scythe before stumbling backwards a few steps. 'Yanagi!' I regained my balance and pivoted quickly, smashing away shadow blades with the handgrip of ryu. (A/N: the part Koganei holds when he throws the scythe part ^^; dunno its name).  
  
"Why do you . . . fight a hopeless fight . . . just give me~"  
  
"Why the hell would I listen to you??" I bellowed in the direction of the voice, flinging the scythe at Kage. "And there's no damn way I'm giving up without a fight!!" I swore loudly as the scythe got stuck in the black shadows. "Damn it! Give it back you fucking asshole!!!"  
  
"Give me Sakoshita . . ." Kage said, with a smirk in his voice. I stumbled as an almost giant like strength heaved on ryu's chain and dragged me away from Yanagi. Looking back quickly, I saw a shadow blade rush by her and leave a narrow slash across her arm. I gritted my teeth as I saw her wince at the cut and quickly cover it with her hand.  
  
"Kage . . ." I growled, grabbing the chain with my right hand, ignoring the shadow blade that slashed my forearm. "I think . . . you've pissed off the wrong person! I haven't gotten Yanagi back for you to just fucking take her away again!!" I gritted my teeth and heaved back on the chain.  
  
"Foolishness . . ." Kage snarled in reply, shooting multiple shadow blades at Yanagi. "You . . . don't have a choice!"  
  
((Recca POV))  
  
"HIME!!!" I saw the shadows beginning to move to surround my Hime and Koganei, and dashed forwards, dodging Mikagami's restraining hand. 'I don't bloody care if they find out we were spying on them! I won't let Kage fucking hurt Hi~'  
  
The light cast by the street lamp suddenly flickered and turned off. It wasn't the sudden absence of light that made me pause, but rather the fact the darkness turned solid and I rebounded off of it. "~what the fuck???" I reached back with one hand and flipped about, landing on my feet.  
  
Mikagami rushed forwards, opening a water bottle and forming the blade of the ensui. I stood up as he slashed it viciously, but the darkness healed and the gash was gone in seconds. "Step back Mi-chan! Fuujin!!" A blast of air smashed a small opening in the shadows, which was once again miraculously healed. "Kuso!"  
  
"Saiha!" I shouted after writing a fire character in the air. Gritting my teeth, I gripped my right arm as the flame blade formed on it. "Get the hell out've my way!!!" I rushed towards the barrier of shadows once again.  
  
((Koganei POV))  
  
I didn't feel it . . . the shadow blades didn't feel like blades. My whole back went numb as I fell to the ground, the kougon anki dropping out of my nerveless fingers. I grunted once as my face hit the tiles, and once again as Yanagi dropped to my side and turned me over, her tears dropping onto my face.  
  
"Kaoru-kun!! Kaoru-kun!!!"  
  
"Gomen ne Yanagi . . ." I murmured, moving my head slightly to look up at her crying face. "I shouldn't of left . . . maybe . . . we could've stopped this before . . . maybe this wouldn't of happened . . ." I lifted a hand to wipe away her tears but stopped at the cut on her arm. "Gomen . . . you got hurt . . . Recca's gonna kill me for that . . ."  
  
"Kaoru-kun!! It's okay! Don't worry!" Yanagi said, the panic evident in her tone. "I'll heal you!" She closed her eyes and put her hands over my chest. And was pulled sharply backwards by a hand on the back of her shirt.  
  
"You won't . . . be healing anyone Sakoshita Yanagi . . ." Kage said, dragging her backwards and throwing her onto the ground. She landed with a little shout of surprise as I tried to push myself up into a sitting position.  
  
"Dammit . . ." I flopped onto my back again, feeling a flash of pain as I did so. "Yanagi . . ." Unable to move, I saw Kage raise his hand and form a shadow blade. Once again, I struggled to sit up but I fell back once again. I cried out as my back hit this time, freezing pain shooting through my body. My vision went black, then red.  
  
((Recca POV))  
  
"Get the hell out of my way!!" I bellowed, grabbing Domon by his shirt and throwing him backwards. I similarly knocked Mikagami aside as I took a deep breath and wrote another character in the air. "Kokuu!!!" I looked back at the dragon and then at my teammates. "Jump through the hole right away." They looked at me, clueless. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU??? HIME'S IN THERE AN SHE'S IN DANGER!!"  
  
They all nodded and I growled more curses under my breath. "Ready? KOKUU!!" The dragon blasted a large, circular hole in the shadow walls and I quickly rushed towards it, diving through and rolling to my feet at the other side. I heard everyone else tumbling to the ground beside me but my eyes were fixed on only one prone, blood-spattered person.  
  
"HIME!!!!"  
  
I scrambled forwards towards her but was faced by multiple shadow blades. Gritting my teeth, I blasted them away with a flame and smashed Kage in the face with a punch. "Hime!! Hime!!!" I gently lifted her up and pushed her bangs out of her eyes, which opened weakly at my touch. "Yokatta . . . you're alive . . ." I dimly heard the sounds of my friends fighting Kage.  
  
"I'm fine . . . Kaoru-kun . . . he . . ." I blinked and turned my head to gaze upon the body of my teammate, who was laying senselessly on the ground. "I . . . need to heal him . . ."  
  
"Iie! You're too weak Hime!" I said, holding her down. "You could die!"  
  
"Kaoru-kun defended me." She replied quietly, looking in my eyes even as I wiped away the blood that trickled from the side of her mouth. "I . . . have to try . . ." Her eyes . . . I nodded slightly and looked up at the fight. Picking Yanagi up, I rushed towards Koganei and was slashed by shadow blades in the process.  
  
"Arigatou Recca-kun . . ." she murmured as I put her down next to Koganei. I watched as Hime held her hands over Koganei's chest and then closed her eyes to concentrate.  
  
END  
  
Moonlight2: ~hides from moonlight-san~ gomen! I try not doing cliffhangers but . . . ~points to the end of the fic~ it just happens! its 12:34 at night . . . I'm sleepy . . . u dun want a bad chapter cause I'm sleepy right? ^^ thanks for da review . . . think Koganei was hurt in this enough? :P  
  
Cassiopheia: not sure if you'll read this now but . . . ^^ I've never had a review like dat . . . think u use lot bigger words then me . . . had to look up fallacious ^^; thanks for da review!  
  
One note: check my bio to see when I'll be working on the nxt chapter, since classes are starting on Monday, I may not write another til nxt weekend, unless if I write 2 tom . . . and the chance of that is slim ^^;   
  
Recca: ~kicking the shadow wall~ stupid ~kick~ wall! ~kick~ get out've my way ~headbangs the wall i.e. sakuragi of slam dunk~  
  
Yanagi (inside the shadows): Recca-kun no baka . . . ~sad face~ 


	17. Chapter 16: Last Stand

Chapter 16- "Last Stand"  
  
[Recca POV]  
  
'Dammit . . . dammit . . .Why the hell can't those idiots get that bastard??' I growled to myself, forcing my body to not leap forwards and join the fight. "Fuuko behind you!!" I winced as Fuuko was slashed in the back by a shadow blade. "Domon! Mikagami!!" Clenching my teeth, I wrote a character in the air. "Madoka!!" The shadow blades that would have pierced deeply into my companions evaporated against the shield.  
  
"A~Arigatou." Mikagami mumbled, wiping the blood out of his eyes. Domon nodded at me and then rushed at Kage once again. "Dumb gorilla." Jumping to his feet, Mikagami attacked Kage from the other side.  
  
"Arigatou Mikagami!" Domon shouted, grinning insanely as he punched and Mikagami slashed at the masked man. I grinned also and glanced down at Hime.  
  
"Ne, Hime . . . any luck?" She kept her head down, her bangs hanging into her eyes and her hands still held over his chest. "Hime?" I knelt down slightly and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Hime." I shook her lightly.  
  
"Eh?" She looked up, her eyes wide and with tears pooling in their corners. "Ah . . . gomen Recca-kun I was concentrating . . . " I nodded then pushed Koganei's head slightly with one foot, it just lolled to the side.  
  
"No . . . no luck so far Hime?"  
  
"Iie . . . I . . . can't heal him totally . . . I . . ."  
  
"Daijobu daijobu Hime!" I said, grinning at her and patting her on the head. "Koganei can pull through it himself! Don't worry bout him!" She looked up at me and I wiped away her tears with my hand.  
  
"You have worse things to worry about . . ." I gritted my teeth and jumped to my feet at the sound of that hated, rasping voice. Domon had been smashed through a park bench and lay unmoving in the rubble, Mikagami slumped against a dented lamppost, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, Fuuko lay on her front, her right arm twisted abnormally on the ground and debris from a smashed brick wall covering her.  
  
"Mikagami! Fuuko! Domon!! Dammit you bastard . . . how dare you fucking hurt them!" Kage's shadowy (no pun intended! ^^;) figure took a step forward. "Damn! I won't let you hurt Hime!! Homura! Saiha!!" I slashed the two characters into the air and clenched my fists tightly as the two fire dragons appeared and flew in the dark night sky above.  
  
[Koganei POV]  
  
"Covered in shadows again . . ." I murmured, laying on my back and gazing at the blackness that surrounded me. There was a burning pain in my back that never stopped, and I couldn't seem to move into a different position. Voices appeared around me, distorted and eerie as if they bounced off of invisible walls.  
  
"I . . I can't believe I'm this weak. I couldn't even protect Yanagi from that bastard Kage . . . Yanagi . . . I hope she's okay . . ." An image of her being enveloped by shadows appeared in my mind. "Dammit . . . it's all my fault . . . why was I so stupid . . . I should've paid attention . . ." I sighed to myself. "Bloody hell . . . if I wasn't so freakin' obsessed in hearing what happened to everyone when I was gone . . . none of this would've happened . . ."  
  
I lowered my eyes as what I had said hit me. "If I wasn't so obsessed . . . if I wasn't gone . . . it's all my fucking fault . . . I'm sorry . . . I didn't protect you this time . . . but . . ." Gritting my teeth, I sat up. Or, rather, I tried to sit up. "FUCK!! Dammit! That bloody hurt . . ." My eyes widened. "This ~ this is nothing . . . Yanagi could be hurt . . . who gives a fuck how I fucking feel right now! I sure as hell don't!!"  
  
A fanged grin appeared on my face.  
  
[Recca POV]  
  
"Yaaah!!" I flew through the air and crashed into a wire metal fence, denting it beyond repair. I grunted as I hit the floor face first, then slowly pushed myself up into a kneeling position. "Fuck!" Gritting my teeth, I tried to steady my shaking hands as I levered myself up.  
  
"This bastard . . . he's too strong at night." I growled, standing up and wiping the blood off my face. "I bet he was fucking waiting for this. You were fucking waiting for this, weren't you Kage??"  
  
"Feh. Your friend was stupid enough . . . to give me this opportunity . . ." Kage replied, holding his arm out to the side. "I use any means . . . to get what I want." A ball of darkness formed on his upturned palm. "You know . . . what I want . . . don't you? Hanabishi Recca."  
  
Fifty thin shadow needles formed from the ball on his palm and shot towards me. "Ma~" I flinched once as my hand froze at my side, and again as the needles plunged into me. I looked down at right hand that was covered in shadows, then back up at the man who turned his back on me and approached Hime. "You . . ."  
  
I fell on my face for the second time in the last two minutes. Scraping my jaw against the floor, I turned to face my enemy. "Kage . . . stop it . . ." He stopped in front of Hime.  
  
She was kneeling, the still form of Koganei lying beside her, one of her hands half raised as if for defense. "Hime . . .!" Her eyes were wide and tears still in their corners. Kage exhaled sharply and formed a black sword from the shadows, gripping it in his right hand. "Stop it . . ." He raised the sword above his head.  
  
"STOP IT!!!!"  
  
END  
  
I wonder if anyone got the ~thinks~ wat's the word . . . allusion? Not sure . . . I was thinking about the first episode of FOR when I wrote this . . . anyone want to hazard a guess? ^_^ its really similar . . . or to me it is ~sweatdrops~  
  
Moonlight: ~thinks~ how hurt did u want him to get? :P ehh . . . didn't have that sort of ending in mind but . . . maybe can do that as a 'alternate ending' ne? ^^ btw ur suggestions rn't that weird . . . they're good suggestions! ^_^  
  
Yami no tenshi: eh . . . daijobu daijobu yami-san! ^^ dun cry ne? :P  
  
~sighs~ I tried writing in Yanagi's POV . . . but I gagged ~sweatdrops~ I can't do it . . . I might of once before, I dun remember but . . . I tried writing it an ~shudders~ no can do ne ^^;  
  
[Yanagi POV]  
  
"Recca-kun!!" My self-proclaimed ninja  
  
~points up~ I got this far and . . . I gagged ~sweatdrops~ dun ask me y ne . . . ~gags again when rereading it~ o_O gomen to any yanagi fans out there . . . if ur readin my fic plez don't kill me for these parts ^^; 


	18. Chapter 17: Revival

Chapter 17- "Revival"  
  
"STOP IT!!!" Recca screamed, fighting to get to his feet as the black shadow blade fell towards Yanagi. I opened my eyes.  
  
"Iieeee!!" Yanagi shrieked, flinching away from the sword and shutting her eyes. The cold metal of the kougon anki made a smacking sound as I snatched it from the ground. I rolled over quickly, blocking the sword with my madougu. I gritted my teeth at the pain that racked my body from the sudden movement, but somehow got my feet underneath me.  
  
"Koganei!!" Recca shouted, fighting to get up but falling on his face for the third time. He gave me a thumbs up as he lay face first on the ground. "Get that bastard!!" I smirked back and then glared up at Kage.  
  
"Surprised?" I asked, a grin on my face. He drew in a ragged breath to reply, but before then I sent the shadow sword flying with a thrust of the kougon anki and slashed Kage across the chest with the blade. Leaning on the madougu, I caught my breath and wiped off the trickle of blood from the corner of my mouth. "Recca's right, you're not gonna bloody stop til you're satisfied."  
  
Kage regained his balance and held out his hand to the side, a small black ball of shadows beginning to form on the palm. I changed my grip on the anki and changed it smoothly. "Ryu!" I threw the sickle at Kage and grinned as the chains wrapped around his arms. Yanking quickly on the chain, I dragged him forwards and must of surprised him, since the ball disappeared.  
  
'I gotta keep him off balance.'  
  
"You . . think you can~" Kage began, breaking off into a shout as I head-butted him right in the face. He fell to the ground, holding his cloth mask with one hand.  
  
"Can what? Fight back?" I said, grinning but close to dropping. I stayed my quivering hand on the hilt of the kougon anki (back in kiba form). "It's useless to resist, am I right, Recca?" I blinked when there was no response. "Recca??" He still lay face down on the floor, unmoving. "Great . . . Yanagi can you heal him?"  
  
"Hai!" Yanagi wobbled to her feet and started tottering towards her ninja. Glaring at Kage, I moved with her, shielding her from an attack. Kage made a hoarse, growling sound in the back of his throat and pulled out his glowing madougu orb.  
  
"Yanagi! Get back!!" I shouted, quickly changing kougon anki to ryu form and throwing the sickle at him. Blood spurted as it slashed past Kage's arm, cutting into it and making him drop the orb. "What happened??" I looked around but Yanagi seemed to be fine, Recca as well. I caught the sickle after yanking the chain back and moved in front of Recca. Yanagi kneeled by her ninja's side and started the attempt to heal him.  
  
"Fuuko?" I blinked as the fuujin-wielder wasn't where I had seen her last. "Where the hell did she go? Mikagami??" I whirled around to see the dented lamppost and blood stains . . . "Domon?" The gorilla had been laying in the rubble of a bench . . . "Kage . . . you bastard!! What the fuck did you do with them??"  
  
Kage knelt slowly down, picking up his madougu and straightening. "I sent them to a world of darkness." My eyes widened. "They . . . should be awake by now . . . and enjoying . . . every moment of it . . ." I curled my upper lip before spitting out a globule of blood onto the sidewalk.  
  
"Fuck you Kage. I won't let you bloody hurt them . . ." I growled, switching from ryu to an. "Yanagi told me, all I gotta do is defeat you and they'll be fine. So, I just gotta kick the shit out've you, to solve all my problems." I set the golden arrow to the bowstring and took aim at the middle of Kage's chest.  
  
In his good hand, Kage formed a ball of shadows and shot shadow blades at me. I felt constricted by the coldness as dark as death, as the shadows came for me.  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"Become stronger Koganei! And together we can change this world."  
  
"I'm not here to help you, nii-chan! I'm here to help Yanagi-neechan!"  
  
"Kaoru-kun is a good person!"  
  
"See you around, Koganei-kun!"  
  
"Damn, you've grown!"  
  
"I can only tell you the name of that form-it is Mu! Become nothingness, and the formless returns to formation, take that into your heart."  
  
"You've changed Koganei."  
  
[End flashback]  
  
My hand jerked back as I released the bowstring, sending the arrow streaking towards the black clad man. It shuddered, however, when it ran into the shadows, and made a clinking sound as the arrow hit the ground.  
  
"Kaoru-kun!!"  
  
I vaulted into the air, using the bow as my pole and dodging the shadow blades that definitely would have sent me to a worse place than his 'world of darkness'. An image of the gaping expression that most likely was on his face made me smirk, as I switched the kougon anki about.  
  
"You . . ." Kage murmured, forming another attack in the palm of his hand. "Are troubl~" I threw the chain of my madougu at him from my vantage point in the air, tying him up again. He looked down at the chain. "Ryu, chain form again . . . you never lea~" The wind blew in my hair.  
  
"Kougon anki! Final form! Mu!!"  
  
END  
  
Gomen for another 'cliffhanger' ish . . . kinda ^^; think I'm . . . wat's da word . . . nodding off when I'm writing? Am typing . . . an my vision blurs an I can't see wat I'm typing. Dun worry, am not sick :P just sleepy ~grins~  
  
I was gonna make this chapter longer but am falling asleep when writing it . . . and I kinda rushed the end of it so if it doesn't make sense . . . tell me! ^^  
  
Moonlight2: if I have enough time/ideas will try and write it . . . ^^; da alternate ending that is . . . good luck on ur exams!  
  
MidnightLoner: hmm . . . never thought of it like that ^^; um . . . I think he just got hurt a lot cause he was the main character ~sweatdrops~ or he just gets in the way a lot ^^; I was actually . . . trying to get that to be recca shouting but . . . Koganei shouting is good also rite? :P  
  
Yami no Tenshi: ah . . . yah ^^; kage was gonna do overhead 'strike' with the shadow sword at Yanagi . . . so basically try to ~makes chopping motion~ ^^; writing the first part of this was fun . . . Kage deserved all of that . . .  
  
Kage- I . . . will make you . . . regret those words! ~takes out madougu orb~  
  
Tenken- ~gets covered in shadows~ etto . . . am not really scared of the dark Kagecchi-chan.  
  
Kage- Don't . . . call me that!! o_O  
  
Tenken- ~uses lighter to light up da area + then whack's Kage on da head~ ahou! 


	19. Chapter 18: Unmasking

Chapter 18 - "Unmasking"  
  
I smiled briefly at the de-attached pieces of my madougu that floated around me, imagining their golden glow in the sunlight. .  
  
"You brat . . . you never used this form in the Urabutosatojin!" Kage growled, wrenching at the chain. I grinned at him as the orb of the kougon anki began glowing red in the shadows.  
  
"Ikee!!" I shouted, as the fragments of madougu shot down towards Kage. Bright red blood mixed with his shadowy black clothing and the dulled gold of my madougu, as each piece stabbed into him, drawn by the madougu orb. The black clad man collapsed face first onto the ground, still wrapped up in the chain.  
  
I moved my head slightly to look at Yanagi and Recca, who was sitting up and wiping the blood out of his face. I started grinning. Pain flared through my entire body as I crashed into the ground, shoulder first. I moved my head and saw the glow disappear from Kage's and my madougu's orbs, the shadows dissipating into the bright-seeming, normal night sky.  
  
"Fuuko-chan! Mikagami-san! Domon!" Yanagi shouted, her voice full of relief, as she ran towards them. Recca tried to get up, stumbled, and managed to stay up on the second time. I watched him walk jerkily towards me, my vision fading in and out of darkness.  
  
"Koganei, can you stand?" he asked, squatting down and looking at me. I feebly tried shaking my head, but I think he got the idea. He rolled me over onto my back and sat me up slowly. "Okay?" I shook my head quickly and wiped away the blood.  
  
"Yeah . . ." I stood up shakily and leant on him for support. He grinned at me. "Get that damn grin off your face." I grinned back at him to make it a joke. We limped over to Kage's still body.  
  
"Hime, they okay?"  
  
"Mm, they're fine!" Yanagi replied, helping Fuuko sit up. The gorilla was already standing and helping Mikagami up. Recca's grin widened and he glanced down at Kage. I kneeled down next to him and unwound the chain, looking at the pieces of the kougon anki.  
  
"Damn, you really got him," Recca said, eying the madougu pieces that were still stabbing into Kage.  
  
"Not that he didn't fucking deserve it," I said roughly, grabbing hold of one piece. ". . ." I heard the rest of the Hokage come up around us, to circle Kage, who was still laying motionless on the ground.  
  
"Kaoru-kun. Ne, Kaoru-kun." I blinked and turned to look at Yanagi. "Just sit down, I'll heal you, okay?" I nodded and did so, still loosely holding the madougu that was embedded in Kage's chest. The piece rose and fell in my hand.  
  
"He's . . . still alive," I murmured. Recca looked at me sharply, then at Kage. I saw him kneel down and pick up Kage's madougu orb with one hand. A warm feeling grew in my back, and the pain started melting away, slowly at first. I stretched, grinning at Yanagi.  
  
"Arigatou." I then turned to Recca. "What should we do . . . with Kage?"  
  
"No clue. But, I know what I'm doing with this," Recca said, standing up and tossing the orb into the air. He wrote a character in flame and a fire blade formed on the tekkou. "Saiha!" Kage grunted and moved slightly as the orb was slashed into pieces and fell to the ground. Recca exhaled and then kicked the pieces to the side as he came back over to us. I didn't see him.  
  
I looked at the 'face' of my enemy, the man who had hurt Yanagi. Hurt everyone. Destroyed Kagero's house, worried Yanagi, worried all of us. Why the hell did he do it? What can make someone fucking doing this to people? I gritted my teeth and balled my free hand into a fist as my anger flared up again. I pulled on the bladed part of kiba, it came out with a sickening sound, its golden color covered with red.  
  
Kage coughed and jerked on the ground.  
  
"Take off his mask," I said, cleaning off the blade of the kougon anki on the grass. Recca gave me a sideways look and I sighed. "Don't you wanna find out who's been doing all this shit to us?" Recca nodded and reached over, taking the bottom flap of Kage's mask in his hand.  
  
The black cloth came off to reveal a young man with black hair and a thin scar that ran diagonally across his face.  
  
END  
  
I apologize for the "Ikee!!" line . . . I rewrote that about 5 times . . . each suckier than the last . . . or it was too long . . .I was gonna write "Goo!!" but it sounds . . . worse ~laughs~  
  
Midnightloner: I think I naturally write cliffhangers . . . it's a sign of my laziness ^^; hm . . . its not really contradictory . . . its just fun to be dramatic w/out formalizing it by joining the drama club ^^; I'm dramatic sometimes but would die if I joined drama club :P  
  
Yami no tenshi: ummm . . . I did a very very very basic kind of sketch over the summer of what would happen . . . but it was very basic ^^; so I make it up each time . . . can u list some of those hints? Cause I may rewrite some (many ^^;) parts of the fic . . and I could add those in :P  
  
After reading Inu Yasha fanfics I want to put Kage saying "kukuku" ~sweatdrops~ hehe i.e. naraku . . . or however u spell his name ^^;  
  
Kage: Kukukuku . . .  
  
Tenken: You got nothing to go "kukuku" about, ahou! ~tapes his mouth shut~  
  
Kage: ~glares + takes out his madougu orb~  
  
Tenken: ~uses the orb as a football~ 


	20. Chapter 19: The Past Part 1

Chapter 19: "The Past (Part 1)"  
  
"He's . . . he's just a kid," Recca murmured, looking down at the young man laying on the cold ground. The black bag mask fluttered in the slight breeze. Kage growled a curse under his breath and gritted his teeth, attempting to sit up.  
  
'Just a kid?' I thought, as Recca held Kage back with a hand. 'Damn, he looks like the same fucking age as me!' Kage fell back, coughing up some blood. Yanagi moved forwards to help him, but her ninja held her back as well with his arm.  
  
"Hime, he's still the same bastard who tried to kill you," Recca said, alternating between glaring at Kage and giving his princess a serious look. "Even if he's just a kid, that doesn't excuse him!"  
  
"Demo . . . Recca-kun . . ."  
  
Recca took a breath and ignored his Hime's last comment, turning his attention to the young man on his back.  
  
'That's a first . . .' I thought to myself.  
  
"Talk, Kage," Recca growled.  
  
"Feh . . . why . . . should I tell you bastards anything . . ." Kage huffed, a smirk spreading across his young face, twisting the scar out of shape. Kage's smirk widened lazily and disappeared when the pavement made a multiple crunching sound. The concrete about him broke into pieces, from Recca's fist, the kougon anki blade, and the tip of the ensui.  
  
We glared down at him, our weapons nearly stabbing through his head.  
  
"Talk," I said coldly, deliberately moving my gaze to the remaining pieces of madougu embedded in the man. His eyes followed mine, and he paled slightly.  
  
[Kage's POV]  
  
'These bastards . . . dammit . . . I can't believe he destroyed my madougu. What the hell can I do now??' I growled to myself, gritting my teeth and glaring at the three towering over me.  
  
"Talk," Koganei said, glaring down at me and looking at the chunk of madougu still in me.  
  
'Dammit . . . I can't move . . . It's like . . .'  
  
[Flashback]  
  
The explosion sent debris flying through the air and sent me crashing to the ground. "Waaah!!" My shoulder crunched into ground and I gritted my teeth in pain.  
  
"Dammit . . ." Screams filled the air and I attempted to scramble back to my feet. Chunks of concrete fell from the sky, crushing people to the ground. "What the fuck are they doing in there??" A piece of rock the size of my head smashed through a tree's foliage to land in a crash by my foot. Chunks of the dome flew through the air, blocked by madougus and brute strength.  
  
"Aaaahh!!" A huge piece had been blasted off by the red and blue flames and flew towards me. "Dammit . . .stand up!!" I couldn't move, my body wouldn't listen to me. "Move . . . dammit move!!" It came closer and I covered my face with my arms. "Okaa-san . . ." I shut my eyes, I didn't want to see it's great weight come and crush me to a paste. I heard a crunching sound, then silence.  
  
I opened my eyes to darkness. Shadows covered me and disappeared. He stood with his back to me, three years my senior, blood dripping down the front of his shirt.  
  
"Nii-chan!!"  
  
"You're okay . . . yokatta . . ." he turned to face me slowly, the black orb dropping from his hand. I scrambled to catch him as he flopped face-first into the ground. "Sorry . . . for leavin' you alone . . I . . ."  
  
"Nii-chan . . . matte yo . . . I'll get you to a doctor! Just wait . . ." I looked up, people were still scurrying about, dodging chunks of concrete. They were getting smaller, but people lay on the ground injured. I recognized Gashakura by his madougu, protecting a group of girls from the last large chunk that remained of the Urabutosatojin dome. I shouted for help. Nobody replied, all too wrapped up in saving themselves. I looked down at my brother. "Don't worry, nii-chan, I'll . . . Nii-chan?"  
  
I shook his shoulder. "Nii-chan . . . ne . . . Nii-chan!!"  
  
[End flashback]  
  
A hit across the face brought me back to my senses. I snarled and kicked at the long-haired bastard who had hit me, gouging a piece of the golden madougu deeper. Blood spurted out. 'I won't let them hear me scream . . . or anything . . .' I growled to myself, settling a hand on the madougu piece.  
  
"Oy . . . what are you doing??" Recca shouted, eyes widening. I smirked and pulled out the golden metal. .  
  
TBC  
  
My reviewers seem to be disappearing . . . ~sweatdrops~ must be due to my irregular updating . . . ^^;;  
  
Ok one thing is that this is only half of the chapter . . . there's still more . . . so I'll write a The Past part 2 or something . . . k?  
  
MidnightLoner: hmmm . . . I guess cliffhangers like me ^^; I don't really like them . . . ~pushes them away~ but they keep coming back! ~sweatdrops~ u learn French? Is it hard? 


	21. Chapter 20: The Past Part 2

GOMEN!!! ~bows multiple times~ I had projects last week and this week I had exams and . . . I had no inspiration so . . . there was no update until now ^^; here's the chapter!  
  
Chapter 20: The Past Part 2  
  
[Kage's POV]  
  
"Oy . . . what are you doing??"  
  
I smirked and pulled out the chunk of golden metal that punk had stuck in me. Their eyes, wide in their shocked faces, faded from my vision. The cool metal came out raggedly.  
  
Red. Voices shouting. Pain.  
  
"What's this bastard's problem??"  
  
I opened my eyes, feeling a glowing warmth spread through my body. "Wh . . what?" That bitch. That bitch was kneeling by me, her hands hovering above my chest, her eyes half-closed in concentration. 'What the fuck does she think she's doing?' I smirked. 'They're fools, letting her get this close . . How could I let her live when she's one of the fucking main causes of all this?'  
  
I clenched and unclenched my hand. My smirk widened into a grin.  
  
"Don't even think about it," a cold voice cut in. I looked up and the punk was looking down at me, his reformed madougu blade ready to stab down. I froze, my grin glued on my face.  
  
"Explain, Kage," Recca said, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Why do you want to hurt Hime? Why are you trying to destroy all the madougus?" I sneered at him, as his princess gracefully stood up from my side and moved to him. That bitch.  
  
'She's the one . . . it's because of her . . .'  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"Urabutosatojin . . .?" I murmured, looking up at Father. "What's that . . .?" He looked at the paper, not replying. I tugged at his shirt. "Ne, Otou-san, what does it say?" He pushed me away gently and left the room. I turned to my brother, who was leaning against the wall. "Nii-chan, do you know . . . what the Urabutosatojin is?"  
  
He was silent a moment, then straightened and cleared his throat. "The Urabutosatojin. It's a fighting tournament." I looked at him. He was taller than me by two heads, his black hair was spiked up and his bangs covered his eyes. His baggy black jeans and red vest didn't fit in with the room, which was plain and traditionally simple.  
  
"Fighting tournament? What do we have to do with a fighting tournament?" I asked. He didn't reply. "Ne, Nii-chan! Do you know? Why~"  
  
"Madougu."  
  
Both my brother and I turned to look up at Otou-san, who had re- entered the room silently. He was dressed in a brown kimono, similar to mine. His black hair was untidy, and his face, which usually was smiling or peaceful, was grim.  
  
"Otou-san . . .?" My gaze flew to his hand. He gripped a small, black orb in his right hand. "What's that?"  
  
He raised the orb to his eyelevel and gazed into it for a moment, before glancing at me and meeting my eyes. "A madougu. Kage. Shadow." I gaped up at it, at the black swirling inside of the globe, and how he held darkness in the palm of his hand.  
  
"It's just a heirloom, am I right?" Nii-chan asked, taking a step towards us. Otou-san was silent. "Give it to them." Otou-san looked up, surprised. "Why risk your life for something so trivial? Just give it to them!"  
  
"I can't."  
  
"Why??"  
  
[A/N= Otou-san: "Because . . . its my preeecioous . . .Gollum gollum." . . . gomen I couldn't resist! ~sweatdrops~ just watched the 3rd movie . . .]  
  
"It . . . belongs with the family. . ."  
  
"What sort of stupid answer is that??" Nii-chan shouted, striding forward and grabbing the front of Otou-san's shirt. "Who cares?? You'd rather die and lose your family then give up that thing?"  
  
I had never seen Nii-chan that angry . . or seen him angry at Otou- san before. But then . . . why couldn't Otou-san just give up the ball? If the people who made this fighting tournament wanted it . . . and he could be killed . . . why just not give it up?  
  
"It belongs in our family, that's all I'll say for now," Otou-san growled, knocking Nii-chan away. "I'm not asking you to fight for it. I'll do it myself." Nii-chan's eyes narrowed but Otou-san turned and stormed out of the room. Nii-chan was silent, staring at where Otou-san had been standing. I saw him clench his fists tightly and was scared to talk to him.  
  
"Ne . . . Nii-chan?"  
  
"Not now, Makoto," he said flatly. I could practically hear him grinding his teeth together, stopping himself from running after Otou-san. I nodded and quietly left the room. I ran into Otou-san, who was quietly arguing with Okaa-san.  
  
"Yoshimi, I have to do this," Otou-san said, gripping the orb tightly. She looked up at him. "You know what it means to me, to my father."  
  
"But . . Kazuo . . ." Okaa-san murmured, looking torn. "Why do you have to go?"  
  
"I showed you the letter," Otou-san replied, nodding to the paper clutched in her hand. "I rarely have found reason to resort to violence, but now I have. I can't give up the madougu . . . and I can't give you up . . . If I refuse they'll come for it anyway . ." They both noticed me simultaneously, Otou-san with a frown that rarely would crease his face, and Okaa-san with an 'O' of surprise. They both turned to me, Okaa-san giving Otou-san a look, before coming up to and hugging me.  
  
"Makoto, come help me with the dinner, okay?" She smiled at me and I tried to smile back. What I had heard made my mind reel and I didn't notice Nii-chan entering the room.  
  
"Otou-san, don't tell me you're going to do it."  
  
"Yukio . . ." Otou-san sounded pained. "Please, you have to understand . . ."  
  
"How can I understand when you haven't explained anything to me??" Nii-chan shouted, loosing his temper. He lost his temper a lot, but usually it was with me, or his friends. Never to Otou-san or Okaa-san . . . "It has to be something important, for you to drop this 'I will do no harm' pose and want to join a killing tournament! So why don't you tell us?"  
  
"But . . . Makoto~" Otou-san began. I didn't like it when he did that . . . looked down on me because of my age I mean. Okaa-san always said that I was grown up for my age, Otou-san never did. He was good and usually understanding about everything, except for that.  
  
"Otou-san! I'm thirteen! Don't treat me like a little kid! I . . . I'll help you!" The idea suddenly appeared. "You don't have to fight by yourself, I'll help you, so you don't have to give up Okaa-san or your heirloom!"  
  
Then Nii-chan hit me. I heard Okaa-san's gasp and Nii-chan's grunt as his punch connected. I stumbled backward a few steps but kept my balance. Lifting a hand to my face, I looked at Nii-chan. Of course, we had brawled and wrestled throughout the years, but . . .  
  
"You idiot! You don't know what you're talking about! This is the Urabutosatojin!" Nii-chan shouted, looking angrier than I had seen him before. "You'll get killed! You're just a kid! You won't stand a chance there!"  
  
We all turned to look at Nii-chan with surprise.  
  
"Yukio . . ."  
  
"What?" He frowned at our expressions and crossed his arms. "Damn, yeah I know about the Urabutosatojin." His frown deepened. "That's why I don't want Otou-san going there, I know how bad it is."  
  
"Sou ka . . . But . . . I'm sorry Yukio, if I don't go, they'll come for my Madougu anyway," Otou-san said, looking at the orb.  
  
"How can you be so certain?"  
  
Otou-san nodded slightly to Okaa-san, while folding his arms into the sleeves of his kimono. "Read it . ." Nii-chan took the paper from Okaa- san's outstretched hand and unfolded it, smoothing out the wrinkles left in it by her tight grip. I inched away from Okaa-san and peered at the paper until Nii-chan lowered it so I could read.  
  
[The letter]  
  
To Hasegawa Kazuo:  
  
I have discovered that you have a certain Madougu in your possession. Rumors of your father using it in battle have reached me. My father has certain interests in madougus, owning several himself. I invite you to the Urabutosatojin. Being the son of the renowned Hasegawa Reizo, I'm certain you will enjoy testing your skills against fighters from across Japan.  
However much you enjoy yourself, I must inform you that there are two rules. One is the losing team of a fight must surrender their madougus, and the second is that each team must hold something on the line. If a team was to lose, they will lose that object. This is to insure that everyone fights to his or her fullest potential and the fights will be more exhilarating.  
While in most cases, a team may chose their own 'hostage', and I use the term loosely, special cases must bring to the Urabutosatojin dome, a required person. My father requires that your hostage is Hasegawa Yoshimi.  
Another letter will be sent to you shortly.  
  
Mori Kurei  
  
TBC  
  
If the names are dumb . . . I'm sorry ~sweatdrops~ and if the letter sucked . . like it didn't explain why Kazuo reacted that way . . . sorry again! ^^; I think they'll be a part 3 . . . I meant for part 2 to be longer but I couldn't get it out fast enough . . sorry!!  
  
To all reviewers . . . ~grins~ thanks for the reviews!  
  
Midnightloner: if you have to wait too long for updates . . . email me and bug me ^^; cause sometimes I forgot to update . . . hope you did well on your test!  
  
Emily: thanks ^^; um, I just updated . . . sorry it took so long ~sweatdrops~  
  
Yami no tenshi: oh . . . I didn't talk about the scars on his wrist because I forgot not everyone reads the manga ^^; in the manga, underneath the cloth on Koganei's wrist was a 'suicide scar'. Before he met Kurei, Koganei was an orphan, and he stole a knife and cut his wrist, and he was afraid . . . while he was cutting his wrist Kurei came up, slapped him, and bandaged his wrist with a cloth (handkerchief?) and told Koganei to come with him. And, Koganei didn't feel afraid so followed Kurei from then on . . . I think it's the same cloth but I'm not sure. . . and the golden metal thingymabob ^^; was supposed to be the parts of the kougon anki (because it broke apart and stabbed into kage, it's still in him ^^;) just keep on asking questions if you have them :P if u want, I can scan pictures from the manga to help explain (scar + golden thingymabobs :P) 


	22. Chapter 21: The Past Part 3

Note: *~*~*~* = time passes. The chapter starts in kage's pov and still is the flashback scene. Maybe I should post this as a separate story . . . ~grins~  
  
Chapter 21: The Past Part 3  
  
I looked around at the huge open dome, staying close to Okaa-san's side. Lounging about against the pillars and walls were crowds of people, all looking like fighters with weapons hanging by their sides and evil glares on their faces. Otou-san and Nii-chan were at the registration table, where a fat man was sitting. I looked up at Okaa-san and smiled slightly.  
  
"Daijobu Okaa-san! Otou-san and Nii-chan won't lose!" I said, holding her hand. She blinked and glanced down at me, before smiling slightly and nodding her head. "I'll fight to protect Okaa-san also!"  
  
"Yoshimi! Makoto! Come here, quickly!" Otou-san shouted, waving to us. I nodded and started to run over, but slowed down to walk by Okaa-san's side. I blinked and took a step back as we came up to the desk. The fat man's face leered over it at me, looking like a fat frog on a rock with one eye bulging and the other looking almost closed.  
  
"So, this is Hasegawa Yoshimi?"  
  
"H-Hai . . ." Okaa-san replied, nervously looking down at the ground. Nii-chan came up on her other side and put his hand on her shoulder. He whispered something to her and she looked up to meet the frog's gaze squarely.  
  
[A/N: I don't know if this guy had a name or not . . . from now on it's the frog!]  
  
"When does our match start?" Otou-san asked, putting a hand on the table. One of the frog's eyes went to gaze at Otou-san's hand, before a smirk grew on his face.  
  
"Mori-sama is the one to decide that," he replied. "The matches will be decided in twenty minutes, in the room past that corridor." He gestured backwards with one fat arm, to a dimly lit hallway behind him and his desk. Otou-san bowed slightly to him.  
  
"Thank you for your help."  
  
"Don't thank me just yet," the frog man sneered, placing his hands on the desk and standing up. "You can't go yet, first you must pass a test . . . to see if you're worthy of participating in the tournament."  
  
"A test," Niichan growled, taking a step away from Okaa-san and eying the men who weren't lounging anymore. "We have to fight these guys?" He got into a fighting stance, as did Otou-san. The frog-faced man pointed towards us.  
  
"Go!" A group of men rushed towards us, whirling and brandishing weapons.  
  
"Protect your mother!" Otou-san shouted, dodging an attack and whirling about to elbow his opponent in the back of the neck. I nodded and drew my two bokkens, and stood in front of her.  
  
"Brat!" a tall man with a torn sleeveless shirt shouted, swinging a metal pole at me. I dodged to the side slightly, knocking the pole off course with one bokken. Slamming the other's hilt into his throat, I spun to block a hit from another man.  
  
"Don't kill the woman, idiots!" the frog croaked, slamming his hand on the table. "The rest are fine!" Yukio turned aside an attack with the back of his hand and slammed his palm into the man's face.  
  
"Cheh, it's fine that they kill you and take your madougu though, ne Otou-san?" he said, grinning. Otou-san frowned and moved his head to avoid a thrust from a sword-wielding attacker.  
  
"I would have expected better manners from Mori Kurei," Otou-san said, catching the sword-blade with two fingers and slamming his elbow into his attacker's chest. A grunt that sounded like a croak made me look up from the mob.  
  
"Mori Kurei doesn't run this tournament. We follow Mori Kouran," the frog croaked, a twisted smile on his face. "This is but a test." He spread his fat arms wide. "Only those who are worthy should participate in this great event."  
  
"Don't joke around like that," Nii-chan growled, smashing a man out of his way. "This is a killing tournament, there's nothing glorious about it! We're just here to protect Okaa-san and our madougu!" I grinned and nodded, dodging out of the way and knocking the weapon out of my enemy's hand.  
  
"We'll protect Okaa-san!"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Ne nii-chan, what are we waiting for?" I asked, nudging him. He looked down at me quickly, putting a finger to his lips. I nodded slightly then continued looking forward at the empty stage. We had been waiting for five minutes or more, along with all the other competitors.I didn't know exactly how long though, because I was wearing black wristbands instead of my usual watch. Along with the bands, I wore a white gi and navy blue hakama. Nii-chan and Otou-san were wearing matching white gi and pants and stared at the stage without any signs of irritation or boredom. I sighed.  
  
"Welcome, the contestants of the third Urabutousatsujin!" A female voice said, cutting through the mumbles of the fighters jammed into the room. I pushed a burly arm out of my way to see a girl with sheep horns on her head and dressed in a bikini step up on stage with a microphone in her hand. "Inside this arena, battling with your strength and power is the only path available! The winner will take all of the prizes!" She paused a moment then smiled. "We await your great participation in this tournament!"  
  
I blinked and scratched my head, looking up at Okaa-san. She looked surprised at the announcer's garb. Nii-chan exhaled loudly. "It's like a damn wrestling match. Low caliber." I grinned up at him and startled as a loud voice cut through the crowd's collective whispers.  
  
"You're so right, boy!!"  
  
I turned, trying to see who was shouting so loudly, but everyone else was doing so as well. The announcer on stage coughed once to get everyone's attention, before continuing. "Now . . . please look at the screen! The sponsor wishes to say a few words." A screen slid down from the ceiling and flickered a moment before showing a man hunching over in a chair. His pupils were like pin-points and the left looked off in a different direction.  
  
"Good day to all the brave contestants. I am the sponsor of this tournament, Mori Kouran!"  
  
'Mori . . . Kouran?' I thought, looking at his face. 'It sounds familiar . . .not just because of the letter, but I've heard of him from somewhere else.'  
  
"He's the ruler of the underground . . ." a man next to me mumbled to his companion, both dressed in half-armor. His companion nodded. "Mori . . . he uses the role of a charity host as a cover . . ."  
  
"I wish good luck to all. The winner can obtain a handsome prize! Money, women, power. The things you crave the most, you can get. I now officially announce the start of the tournament!"  
  
The face on the screen blacked out to a map of the tournament matches, the team names attached by solid white lines. I grabbed onto Nii- chan's sleeve with one hand. "Ne, Nii-chan, where are we? Who are we fighting?" I shouted over the screams and bellows of the other fighters around us.  
  
"C Block . . . Team Kage verses Uruha Ikazuchi . . ."  
  
TBC  
  
It's going to be longer . . .i was caught up in a FOR RPG . . gomen!!! If people seem surprised that suddenly this normal family beats up these guys easily . . . they live in a dojo and Kazuo (otou-san) is the head of it . . . but he doesn't usually fight ^^; that's my answer. And the 2 bokkens kage uses, are to his size . . eg. Yahiko's shinai is his size and not kaoru's, so he's not wielding these huge long bokkens ~sweatdrop~  
  
Emily: thanks for the review ^^ sorry for the slow updating as well . .  
  
Moonlight2: I'm koganei's not really being cold, just that he's finally got the guy who's been making all this trouble for yanagi, so he's kinda angry. oh, kage's supposed to be 'around' koganei's age, so teenagers, 16 to 18. hurry update ur fic! ^_^ 


	23. Chapter 22: The Past Part 4

I found a 'typo' in the last chapter! ~whacks it~ I called the older brother "Yukio" instead of "Nii-chan" like Kage (Makoto) usually calls him…sorry this was a really hard chapter to write…and classes are exhausting me…. Sorry!

Chapter 22: The Past Part 4

            "Uruha Ikazuchi…?" I repeated, looking up at nii-chan with wide eyes. His hands were balled into fists and he was gritting his teeth. "Who's that? Are they strong?" Nii-chan swallowed and attempted to compose himself before looking down and meeting my gaze.

            "Uruha…they work for Mori Kouran; they're his elite fighters," Nii-chan murmured, wiping a bead of sweat off his face. "I haven't heard about Uruha Ikazuchi, but if any of the rumors are correct…it will be a tough fight."

            I looked at him. I could sense he was nervous, that he was worried about the fight. If this Uruha Ikazuchi group was a tough fight, and it was only the first one…how could we survive through the whole Urabutosatojin? 

            "D-Daijobu nii-chan! We can beat those guys!" I said, attempting a grin and lifting one of my bokkens into the air. "Otou-san is very strong!" I tapped the bokken against nii-chan's forehead. "Nii-chan's strong. And…I hope I'll be strong enough to protect Okaa-san!" 

~*~*~*~*~

            I saw the long-haired man walk towards the platform. He was smiling widely, either to some personal thought or to the screaming horde of fan-girls that were making hearts at him. Murmurs from people in the crowd behind me made me wonder what nii-chan was worrying about. 

            "Raiha-sama! I love you, Raiha-sama!!" 

            "Keh, that's a guy? Looks more like a girl. He's gonna lose for sure."

            "What did you say?? Raiha-sama will never lose!!"

            "Hai hai."

            _This guy looks like a wimp! _I thought, agreeing with the Raiha-fan's neighbor, as our opponent tripped on the stairs and fell on his face. _And he's the only one on the whole team! We'll go to the next round easy!_

            "So, who should go first?" Otou-san thought out-loud, alternating glances between me and nii-chan, and the long-haired Raiha onstage. I grinned and waved my arm in the air.

            "I'll do it!" I shouted, whipping out one of my bokkens. They both looked down at me. I scratched my head. "Well…he looks really easy, so…I'll prove that we're strong! I'll take down this Raiha guy, and we'll go to the next round!" I grinned at the three of them. There was a small silence.

            "Team Kage… Please chose your first fighter!" the announcer said, bouncing up to us, her rabbit ears flopping in front of her face. I smirked and stepped forward, only to be brushed back by Nii-chan's arm.

            "Nii-chan??"

            He looked back and me and gave me a half-smile. "I'll try my skills against the famed Uruha." Nii-chan stepped up onto the stage. I quickly rushed forward to stop him but was blocked. 

            "Nii-chan no baka! He uses a sword!" I shouted, trying to get loose from Otou-san's grip.  "I'd be more matched against him than you!" Nii-chan was silent as he stood opposite of the smiling bishonen. 

            "He's worried for you."

            "Eh?" I looked up at Otou-san, who was gazing at Raiha and Nii-chan. 

            "Yukio's information on the Uruha was correct, at least with this man," Otou-san murmured, letting go of me and straightening. "He may not look like it, but he's extremely powerful…." He slipped his hand in his pocket, where I knew the madougu orb to be. 

            "Uruha Ikazuchi versus Team Kage! Round one, Raiha VS Yukio!" The rabbit girl stood between the two fighters, her arm held up. I swallowed, as our opponent stayed smiling, his hand not reaching for the sword hilt that stuck up on his shoulder. The crowd's cheers died and the clock was set at zero. "Start!" She lifted her hand and quickly jumped back, yelping as Nii-chan rushed forward. 

            Raiha smiled and dodged Nii-chan's punch with ease, drifting back and forth to avoid his kicks. Nii-chan gritted his teeth and continued attacking, speeding up his attacks. The ninja's eyes widened as he barely dodged a punch to the face. 

            "Heh, you can't look down on me, Uruha," Nii-chan said, smirking, as he spun-kicked at the ninja. I stepped forwards involuntarily as the ninja blurred out of sight, nii-chan loosing his balance and stumbling. "Damn! Where'd he go?" Nii-chan spun around, looking for the elusive ninja. 

            "Nii-chan, behind you!"   

            Raiha's sword flashed out of its sheath as Nii-chan spun around. He grunted and rolled to dodge, a red line appearing down his cheek as if by magic. Straightening, nii-chan wiped the blood away and pulled out two metal arm guards from a pouch at his waist. Raiha stopped and smiled, waiting for nii-chan to put on his guards.

            "Feh, you don't have to wait for me, Uruha. Come at me anytime." 

            "Are you sure about this, Yukio-san?" Raiha asked, smiling and going chibi. I winced as the silence of the crowd turned into fan-girl screams. Nii-chan didn't reply, but rushed at the ninja again. "I'm sorry, but Kurei-sama will be angry if I take so long in the first round ^^." 

            "Urusai!" Nii-chan shouted, his steel-clad arm blurring towards Raiha. Still chibi, the ninja scratched his cheek with a finger then disappeared, reappearing behind nii-chan. I saw his eyes widen before collapsing face-first onto the ground, a long, red, bloody slash down his back.  

            "Nii-chan!!" I avoided otou-san's restricting grip and ran towards my brother, who hadn't moved. The rabbit girl blinked and scuttled over to his side. She knelt and looked at his face before straightening. 

            "Yukio is unable to fight! Round one goes to Uruha Ikazuchi!" 

            I turned nii-chan over carefully, hearing otou-san and okaa-san coming up behind me. "Daijobu deska, nii-chan? Ne, nii-chan!" He looked at me, his eyes focusing and unfocusing.

            "Look out…he's…strong…"

            I looked at nii-chan's pale face as otou-san lifted him carefully up and carried him off of the stage. Placing him on the ground as gently as possible, otou-san mumbled to okaa-san. Her face paled but she nodded and smiled at him, touching nii-chan's face. 

            Otou-san nodded and stood up, walking towards the stage, where I still stood, staring at nii-chan's blood. 

            "Team Kage? Please send your next fighter!" The rabbit girl said, looking nervously at the crowd. 

            "We give up," Otou-san said calmly, a slight smile on his face. I looked up at him, at the look of regret on his face. "I give this match to you, Uruha Ika~"

            "YOU'VE GOTTA BE JOKING!!" I shouted at otou-san. "HOW THE HELL CAN WE GIVE UP??"

            "Makoto…please…" okaa-san placed her hand on the side of the stage, looking up at me. "Don't worry about me…I just don't want you getting hurt…"

            "I don't care if I'm gonna be hurt! I'm going to protect you, okaa-san! I won't lose!" I drew my bokkens and stepped forwards, pointing one at the rabbit girl. "I'm the next fighter!" 

            "Makoto!" Her voice was panicked, nervous, begging. 

            "But…" The rabbit girl looked at otou-san then back at me. Otou-san sighed once then stepped off the stage, holding okaa-san back. "Then…Round two…Raiha verses Makoto!"

            _I can't lose…I can't! I have to protect okaa-san! I…can't lose!!_

            I rushed towards the ninja, who had lowered his sword. The glowing blade rose as soon as I attacked, blocking attacks from both bokkens. I growled and caught the sword between the V my weapons formed and kicked the ninja solidly in the stomach. Raiha fell back a few paces before straightening, a hand resting against his stomach. The goofy smile was still in place.

            _Dammit__…are my kicks too weak to affect him? Then…_

I attacked again, slashing at the man with one bokken. As soon as he blocked it, I punched at his stomach with the other's hilt. _One sword always loses to two, even if they're two bokkens._ The grin fell off my face as Raiha casually caught my fist and smiled down at me. 

            "Like I said to your brother, Kurei-sama will be angry if I can't help him later on." With a smile, I was sent flying across the stage to come crashing to the ground. I sat up painfully, amazingly still with my bokkens in hand.

            "Itai…" I looked up at the ninja, who was casually standing there. "Kurei...he's the bastard running this death tournament?? Why the fuck does he want people to kill each other? Why do~"

            "Kurei-sama wished for this tournament to happen, yes," Raiha interrupted with a calm voice. "But, it was Mori-sama who organized it."

            "Mori…Kouran?" Raiha nodded once. "Why?" The ninja looked uncomfortable for the first time. 

            "I can't tell you that." The smile dropped off of his face and his eyes narrowed. My eyes widened as I felt killing ki emanating from him. "Now, I must finish this match. I don't like fighting kids, but…" He disappeared and reappeared behind me, sword raised. "…if Kurei-sama orders it…I shall." A silver arc flew towards me.

            _Okaa-san…_

            I saw darkness and I heard the shouts of the crowd and the sound of wood hitting the floor. There was no burning pain…nothing of a light at the end of a tunnel. I opened my eyes and saw Raiha standing above me, death in his eyes, his sword sheathed once again. I looked down and saw there was little but the hilt left on both my bokkens. Swallowing, I tried to stand up.

            _I can't give up…even without my weapons…I can't…_

            I struggled to my feet, but collapsed half-way. My legs weren't responding. "Dammit…why can't I stand? Dammit, stand up!!" I shouted to myself, hitting my leg with a shaking hand. I saw the rabbit girl come cautiously towards me. She knelt at my side.

            "Can you still fight?" she asked, nervously looking at me. I glared at her, making her flinch and inch back.

            "I can still fight!" I shouted at her, struggling to rise once again. I couldn't even make it to my feet. _Is this because of fear? Am I so afraid to fight this man…if I lose… okaa-san…okaa-san…_ The bokkens fell from my hands as the trembling increased. _I'm scared…okaa-san…_Rabbit girl moved closer to me, looking at my face before making a decision and standing up, an ear flopping into her eyes.

            "Makoto is unable to fight! The second round goes to Uruha Ikazuchi!" 

            _Two wins…even if otou-san wins…it's all over…okaa-san…gomen…I couldn't protect you…I was too weak…I was afraid…I… _

            "Makoto?" Otou-san came up and lifted me easily. I didn't reply. He brought me off stage and laid me next to nii-chan. "I will protect your okaa-san. Don't worry." His peaceful face turned serious as he left, turning his back on us. I closed my eyes in shame, not wanting to meet nii-chan's gaze.

            _At least nii-chan fought…at least he didn't give up because he was afraid…_

            "Final round! Uruha Ikazuchi's Raiha verses Team Kage's Kazuo! Start!" 

            I heard gasps from the crowd, other than that it was silent. Whistles were heard as Raiha's sword flashed through the air. Otou-san's grunts echoed through the silence as he dodged attacks and retaliated. I heard okaa-san's scream.

            "Kazuo!" 

            I opened my eyes and forced my trembling body to sit up. Otou-san was on one knee, holding his shoulder. Blood leaked from between his fingers. Raiha stood in front of him, the smile back on his face as he fingered his sword. 

            "Are you going to give up, Kazuo-san?" 

            Otou-san didn't reply, but stood up, wiping his hand on his pants. Taking out his madougu orb from his pocket, he held it in his right hand and glared at the ninja. "I dislike violence, Raiha. But, I will not give up now. Not after my sons have fought so hard to protect their mother." Raiha's eyes had widened upon seeing the orb, and his chibi face became serious again.

            Shadows engulfed otou-san, hovering about him. "I want to know why Mori Kouran called this Urabutosatojin." Shadow blades formed as Raiha stayed silent. "If you can't tell me…" The blades shot forwards, stabbing at the ninja who dodged and knocked them aside. Raiha threw multiple kunai at otou-san, eyes narrowing more as the shadows caught them.             

            "If you have to know so badly…it's because of a girl," Raiha said, straightening and beginning to circle otou-san. 

            "A girl?"

            "Mm. A single girl that Kurei-sama has discovered." Raiha's voice dropped so I could barely hear it. I crawled to the side of the stage and shakily stood up to listen. The crowd grew louder again, cheers for our team as well as shouts for Raiha. "I believe it's foolish to call together all the Uruha for one girl…but it was Mori-sama's orders, and Kurei-sama's wish to fight that boy again." 

            "That boy?"

            "…I've talked too long…Let us continue." Shuriken flew through the air and were blocked by a wall of shadows. They traded attacks for a few moments, each dodging and retaliating in a flash. A slash appeared on otou-san's arm as he was too late to stop one. He flinched and nearly dropped the madougu orb, the shadows fading slightly. Raiha appeared in front of him, inside the wall of shadows, sword already curving downwards. 

            Blade met blade as otou-san formed a sword made out of shadow, blocking the ninja's attack. I saw otou-san smirk, for the first time. "I taught my sons everything they know. While I don't fight with two swords, I'm sure my one sword technique will be enough for you."

            I had never heard otou-san talk like that, or fight like that… It was strange, hearing him…he sounded a lot like nii-chan, when he was fighting. I watched as otou-san became a different person, a fighter, a man who wielded a madougu without qualms, a man who was trying to kill another. I tried to remember the meaning of otou-san's name… but my mind flew back to the fight as the two fighters jumped apart. 

            Otou-san was breathing heavily, with multiple wounds, while Raiha was wounded in some places, but still looked ready to fight. Raiha looked at otou-san's face before exhaling and scratching his head. 

            "Hanabishi Recca and Sakoshita Yanagi," Raiha murmured, smiling sheepishly. He glanced at otou-san once more. "You're a really stubborn man, Kazuo-san." Otou-san grinned and took a deep breath. 

            "Thank you for telling me, Raiha," Otou-san replied, straightening and tightening his grip on the madougu. "I know you didn't have to, but you did. For that I thank you… But…now I must finish this fight. For my wife," He glanced at okaa-san. "And for my sons." He gave us both a fond look, which then turned serious again. "And for myself." He raised the hand that held the madougu and it glowed brightly. 

            I saw Raiha's eyes widen and his hand fly for something attached to his belt. I saw otou-san's determined face. I saw the whole stage disappear into darkness. The whole crowd was stunned into silence, they all leaned forward, mouths agape. I stood silent for a few moments…before trying to drag myself onto the stage.

            "Makoto, stop! You can't do anything now!" okaa-san said, getting hold of my gi. 

            "But…"

            "Okaa-san's right, Makoto…" I looked up happily to see nii-chan sitting up. "We can't do anything for otou-san…it's all up to him now…" I nodded slowly and watched the darkness.

            _What was going on in there? Who's winning? Is otou-san still alive? He has to be… or else the darkness would disappear… Is Raiha dead? Not yet…or else otou-san would've stopped the madougu…But…can otou-san do it? _Then, I suddenly heard a grunt of paint. It wasn't otou-san, so a grin broke out on my face. _He did it, otou-san did it! He got that ninja bastard! He might not've killed him…but…it's only a matter of ti~_

            "Raijin!"

            There seemed to be a light glowing from within the shadows. I looked at it, shocked. The shadows twitched suddenly, then dissipated as if blown away by the winds. I first saw the ninja, standing tall but breathing heavily, holding his right arm. There was blood running down it, but I couldn't see what had made the wound. And…there was otou-san, lying on the ground. He still clutched the madougu orb; he still looked ready to fight. He was dead. The ground about him was destroyed, and his white gi and pants were stained, burnt looking. 

            I half-heard the rabbit girl's whimper as she went up to otou-san and looked at him. She held the microphone in two quivering hands and murmured into it. "T-Team Kage's Kazuo…is…unable to fight…Round three goes…to Raiha…" 

            "Raiha-sama!"

            "I can't believe that girl won…"

            "Raiha-sama is a guy! How dare you!!"

            "Whatever he is…what did he do just then? That Kage guy looks roasted." 

            I tried to block out the sounds.

            "So…the result is three wins and zero losses…so…Uruha Ikazuchi…is the winner!"

            I tried to fight back as men appeared to take away okaa-san. Nii-chan struggled to help but fell down again. They knocked me out of the way, and took okaa-san by the arms. I pushed myself back up, but they had disappeared into the crowd. Something cool hit my back and I picked it up, looking at the dark madougu orb. Raiha stood over me, smiling, with otou-san in his arms. He deposited otou-san's body next to nii-chan…murmured something that sounded like an apology…and disappeared into the crowd. 

            The images began breaking up…Dragging nii-chan to the hospital wing… Sitting by his bed, hoping he would recover. Feeling the orb in my pocket. Seeing the Hokage in their second round match. Seeing Hanabishi Recca, the flame wielder for the first time… Seeing Sakoshita Yanagi, the reason why the Urabutosatojin was held, for the first time. I watched all of the Hokage's matches, saw how their madougus hurt people, and saw how they hurt people to protect that one girl. Otou-san had died because of that one girl, nii-chan died because Hanabishi was fighting Kurei, to save his princess. Okaa-san disappeared. I was all alone…all because of her…

[End flashback]

            I looked at the Hokage. In the few years that had passed, they hadn't changed. They still would fight, would kill, to protect that girl. I narrowed my eyes. More people would die, more people would be hurt, and more families would be destroyed because of her and madougus. I couldn't let that happen. 

TBC

I know…finally…I finished this chapter…and finally finished the flashback… it'll go back to Koganei's POV…bet everyone's glad to hear that? ^_^ I'm really sorry it took me so long…it was about a month? Sorry…thanks for the reviews + being patient with me!

Emily: I updated….after a very very long time…and I'll try to keep on going… which probably means a while before I update again ^^;

Yami no tenshi: etto…I don't really understand your comment in da last review ^^; either I'm really slow…or really sleepy tonight ^^ oh well…thanks! ^_^

Schizo13: hmm…yeah I didn't update quickly *sweatdrops* sorry bout that… and midnight also hasn't updated? Or might of…I don't remember ^^;

Moonlight2: um…I was thinking that we never got to see the first round of any Uruha fights ^^; so…they had to fight someone to get to the top :P keep on working on ur fic, and…I'll try writing more of HMR…not sure when I'll be able to…not sure why but for my 2 anime fics…ideas aren't really coming to me ^^; only for my Out of the Norm one…


	24. Chapter 23: The End of it All

Chapter 23: The End of It All

            Kage laid on the floor, quiet, his eyes closed. Recca looked like he was going to smack the guy awake, but Yanagi grabbed onto his arm and shook her head.

            "Hime! I'm just waking the bastard up! How the hell can a guy fall asleep in a battle?" Recca growled, his glare not leaving Kage's scarred face. His expression changed to disbelief after a moment and he looked down at Yanagi. "You…you thought I was going to kill him?" She looked away. Recca wrenched his arm away from her quickly and muttered something under his breath before turning away to look up at the night sky. 

            "Iie…it's not that, Recca-kun…I just…"

            "Ah, Yanagi. He's fine; just give him a second," I said to her, grinning as I wrenched out the point of the kougon anki from the concrete and rested the madougu against my shoulder. I heard Fuuko brush off her clothing and sigh, going over to talk to Yanagi. Mikagami glared down on the apparently sleeping Kage a moment more before going over to Yanagi as well. Domon wandered over to get shouted at by Recca.

I looked down on Kage. He looked my age, he looked like an average guy, he could have gone to my school and I wouldn't have noticed him from the crowd… But I still felt the wounds he had given me, the blood still on the clothes of my fellow Hokage, and the crap he had dragged us through for god-knows what reasons. But…if he had reasons, he would never stop hunting down Yanagi, or anyone who had a madougu. None of us would be safe…

            Kage's eyes opened slowly to fix an almost neutral look on me. It changed to one of not hate…but of determination. I blinked and frowned down as he attempted to lever himself up. Apparently Yanagi hadn't had the strength to fully heal him… The golden blade of the kougon anki fell as I pointed the tip of it at my enemy's throat. 

            "I wouldn't get up yet, Kage," I said, still trying to sort out my thoughts. Upon hearing me, the other Hokage came from their various locations and stood around Kage once again. "E~"

            "Explain," Recca growled, anger and annoyance evident in his voice and clenched fists. He sounded angry enough to kill the guy… "Explain why you did this, Kage." Yanagi stepped forwards as if to stop Recca, but merely stood beside him, her eyes downcast. 

            _I understand why Recca's so pissed off…_ I thought to myself, watching as Kage struggled onto his elbows. _But…why…why would he want to kill Yanagi and not Mori Kouran? He was the one who planned the Urabutosatojin…he was the one who wanted Yanagi and the madougus…_

            "Sakoshita Yanagi caused all of this crap to happen," Kage said flatly, no sneer on his face as he slowly got up into a sitting position. "Because of her, the Urabutosatojin was called and my family was killed." He ran a finger down the scar on his face. "I received this when you and Kurei blew up the dome. Nii-chan died to protect me, I just got this scar." Recca's expression was hidden by his bangs. "Don't you understand?? Because of her, more people will die! How many were hurt by the Urabutosatojin? How many more will die??" He got to his feet, ignoring my madougu at his throat and grabbing onto Recca's collar. "Can't you see that??"

            "Shut the hell up," Recca said quietly, looking down at Kage. "It isn't Hime's fault she was born with the ability to heal people. She used it to help others. It's because of people like Mori Kouran that people died." Kage's eyes widened as Recca in turn grabbed his shirt front and lifted him from the ground. "Don't fucking blame her for what that selfish bastard did! If you want revenge, look for that bastard Mori Kouran!" 

            "He's not the only one who would want her powers!" Kage spat at our leader. "There'll be others! Other people who want to live forever, or want to be cured… They'll discover something different about her, and come for her, just like Mori did!" 

            Mikagami's cold voice cut into Kage's tirade. "How many years has it been since the Urabutosatojin?" Kage blinked and slightly turned his head to face the swordsman.

            "…three…"

            "Three years," Mikagami restated. I looked at him, wondering what he was going with this. "Three years, and not a single person has attacked Yanagi-san. Other than you." Kage's eyes widened. "If you had been watching us that closely, you would have known that. Can't you get it through your revenge-clouded mind that we aren't the people to attack?"

            "S-Shut up!" Kage shouted, baring his teeth and beginning to struggle with Recca. Yanagi cried out as Kage was thrown against a brick wall, causing the man to cough up blood once again. Recca's fist shattered a section of the wall, sending brick and blood in the air. 

            "You bastard! You're the reason why everything is happening now! You wanna know why Hime's safe? We're protecting her, and we're keeping her secret! We're keeping the secret of the whole Hokage madougus!" Recca bellowed down at Kage. "Nobody from the Urabutosatojin's gonna say anything about it, cause either they didn't know or they got madougus of their own they don't want taken by the army or the damn yakuza! If you just shut the hell up and didn't say anything about it, we would've been fine!! Sure, your family died…." Recca's tirade stopped for a moment and his looked down at the ground, the fist he had been waving at Kage lowered. Yanagi looked worried and went up to him, holding his hand and looking up at his face.

            "Recca-kun…?"

            "Daijobu Hime…daijobu… I'll protect you…no matter the cost." Recca looked up and smiled at the girl he had sworn to protect, to become her ninja, to keep her from harm. The others may have missed it, other than Yanagi, but I saw it…

            _Recca…he's…afraid…He's afraid he's going to have to kill Kage…but…is he going to do it?_ I asked myself, taking a step forwards as if to protect the scarred man. _W-Why…Why the hell do I wanna save this bastard who wants to kill Yanagi and all of us…to take our madougus and probably go on to kill anyone else he can find?? _For the first time in three years I saw the face of the friend I had made during the Urabutosatojin. _Saicho…_

Images appeared, of the dojo where Saicho trained being covered in darkness, Saicho and Misora being enveloped in shadows…the Kuu being destroyed…nothing they had would be able to stop Kage… I took a breath and straightened, resting kougon aniki's end on the ground. _Recca…if Kage doesn't change his mind…we have to…not just for our sakes…but for everyone…but then…we would be doing what he's accusing us of… killing a life for another…_

"Sure…your family died…" Recca repeated, turning his back on the man half-laying against the wall. He took a few slow steps, his head bowed as if thinking. "But… that doesn't give you the right to blame Hime for their deaths. You can't blame the fighters as well; they had something on the line, something to fight for, something they would kill for. If your family didn't want to get hurt, you shouldn't have accepted Mori's invitation to a death tournament! It was a damn slaughter-house, lots of people died there! They went there on purpose to fight, to train; they knew they were going to di~"

            "We had no fucking choice! What could we do??"

"You could've protected them! You could've protected your family, stopped them from being hurt!" Recca shouted, obviously holding himself back, still not facing our enemy... I looked up and watched the Hokage, their faces down-turned and sad as they listened to Recca. "You could've gotten stronger and fought back, and protected them! Like I, like we all protected Hime!"          

"You killed people to protect that one girl!!" Kage spat, struggling to rise. He failed, slumping back down against the wall, leaving a crimson smear on the red brick. 

"Baka! Recca never killed anyone!" Fuuko shouted, stomping forwards. "He protected Yanagi-chan without killing a single fighter! We all won by knock-outs, ne?" She went chibi and grinned at us. I sweatdropped at the sudden change in atmosphere, but turned back as I saw Kage attempting to stand up. He was ignoring the drops of blood that splashed down into the red puddles forming at his feet. Resting a hand against the red brick wall, our enemy got to his feet and wobbled there, his scarred face turned towards the ground. Without thinking, I began walking towards him.

            _He's determined to revenge his family…We have to convince him that this was because of Mori. Then…he won't try attacking Yanagi…and…we won't have to kill him…all this time we protected Yanagi without any deaths on our hands…I don't want us to start killing now…_

            "Y-You expect me to listen to this crap? How else could you defeat fighters like the Uruha?" Kage groaned, nearly falling. "After all this time…how could I forgive you for what you've done?? Don't fucking joke around…that would dishonor them…Otou-san died trying to protect Okaa-san…Nii-chan died protecting me… I…I can't leave it like this! I can't let that bitch go around like nothing's happened! She goes around like nobody died because of her!" 

            Kage took a quaking step away from the wall, his dark eyes hidden by black hair. "I-I'm doing you guys a favor…She won't cause anymore deaths…Nobody will be left alone…" He took another, stronger step away, his hand no longer resting against the bricks. Steel glinted in the dull night as Kage unsheathed a knife from behind his back and rushed towards Yanagi. Recca turned his head. 

            "Yanagi-chan!!" 

            "Yanagi!" 

            I stood stunned as he came closer to Yanagi, the girl we had been protecting for so long, the girl for who I gave up on Kurei, the girl who we had risked our lives for….

            "Yanagi-san!" 

            _I have to stop this…We can't let this happen…I have to stop this!! _

            Red fire burst out of Recca's arm, forming a sharp blade coming out of his tekkou. 

            "HIME!!"

            Kage flew backwards; bright blood flowing through the air. Recca slid to a stop in front of Yanagi, his teeth still bared and eyes narrowed; Kage's blood, leaking down Saiha's blade, evaporated into red steam. The teen hit the wall with a crunch, sliding down to flop onto the ground. I froze a few steps away from the broken form of our enemy. Recca's eyes widened and saiha disappeared. 

            "Otou-san…Okaa-san…" Kage's murmurs were quiet, barely audible to the dark night. "Nii-chan…I…I…" The silence stretched among us and one by one my friends lowered their heads, leaving only Yanagi and I staring at the black-clad body. Her shoulders began to shake and she put a hand on Recca's back.

            "Recca-kun…Kage…is he…" Her voice quavered and she rested her forehead on his back.   Recca's eyes stayed wide and on Kage, but he put an arm around his princess's shoulders. "Recca-kun…you…"

            "H-He would've killed you, Hime…" 

            I took the few final steps towards the unmoving Kage and knelt down by him, looking at the glazed eyes, the slack mouth. I had seen dead people before, being in the Uruha but…I had thought there was a reason for them to be killed… Kurei told us they were bad people, and then they were dead. They were statistics…In the Urabutosatojin people had died…Genjuro exploded from Neon's attack, Magensha slashed by J-Kipa, Kai by his own madougu… 

            "I…I saw the blade coming for you, and…"

            "Recca-kun…"

            "Yanagi-san, Recca had to kill Kage," Mikagami said, letting the blade of his ensui fall into droplets of water that splashed onto the tiled ground. He tucked the hilt into a pocket and crossed his arms, walking towards us. Yanagi looked up at him, hair and tears in her eyes.  "We tried to reason to him, for too long, and he still attacked. Like the sea-monkey said, he wouldn't have stopped at us. He would've tried to kill everyone who owned a madougu; he would've killed hundreds because of his family." Recca turned to Mikagami, fires burning in his eyes. "I'm not only am the zoo keeper, but have to explain for you? Sad."

            "I'm not angry bout your stupid nicknames," Recca growled. "I didn't want to kill the bastard, it…it just happened. I didn't reason it out…he was going to kill Hime and… my body just moved by itself…"

            "Your body moved by itself because you trained it to do that, so you could protect Yanagi-san."

            The night began to lighten, grey tones appearing in the eastern skies. I heard Recca's and Mikagami's arguing, Fuuko trying to comfort Yanagi, Yanagi's sobs… The sun began to rise and its fire showed a faint smile on Kage's face. 

            _He wanted revenge for his family…and to prevent others suffering like he did. But then why would he do that…he knew he couldn't kill Yanagi and all of us without his madougu…He didn't lose control…did he…know he couldn't win but tried anyway? Or did he…finally believe us? And wanted to die to be with his family…_ I looked at the young man's scarred face for a moment before closing my eyes. _But…whatever Kage believed, whether Recca was a savior or a destroyer of dreams…it doesn't matter._

            Recca and Mikagami were still shouting, each trying to outdo the other. Yanagi had managed to stop her tears, but stood red-eyed next to Fuuko and Domon who were looking at the arguing pair with disapproval in their eyes, but said nothing. 

"Can you fucking cut it out??" I shouted from my kneeling position. They both blinked, surprised, and looked down at me. "All of this…it doesn't matter how Kage died! He's dead…" I looked up at Recca, who met my eyes for a moment before looking away quickly. "But…do we still continue the way we were?" Nobody would meet my eyes. "Now that Recca's…killed for Yanagi…what do we do from here? If more people come for her, do we fight as we always did? Or do we kill to protect her? One death or many…after the first, they all stop becoming so terrible, and each one is easier to do..." One by one, they met my gaze and with a bloody hand, I closed Kage's eyes.

END

Took a while to get the final chapter out…I tried to make it as good as possible for you guys…tell me if you hate it though, it seemed to get strange at the end ^^; To end this…I want to say thanks to all the people who reviewed and kept me writing this fic, however slowly I updated… Double thanks to Yami no Tenshi, who mailed me to ask me to continue when I had forgotten about it… Hope you all enjoyed Changing Times! ^_^

Youkai Ryuu: The sixth form is shown in the manga…I based some of it on the anime and some of it on the manga…e.g. The ending of the Urabutosatojin is like the manga…

Emily: thanks for being patient with me + my irregular updates ^^

Schizo13: *sweatdrops* ah…I mean moonlight-san's update…yeah I got you two mixed up…sorry! 

Yami no Tenshi: connection ^^; well…you've seen what happened. :P thanks for your reviews ^__^


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